


I've Had Enough Wars to Last a Lifetime

by 1950



Category: Captain America (Movies), Fallout 4, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, bethesda - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fallout, Alternate Universe - Marvel Cinematic Universe Fusion, I'm doing my best, Idk what i'm doing, Jealousy, Love/Hate, M/M, Please Don't Hate Me, bethesda why, bucky has the mouth of a sailor, bucky needs to chill, cait and bucky would totally be best friends tbh, don't hate pls, hidden references, idk how to write fight scenes so pls forgive that one, makeout sessions, no one in the game ever told the SS what any of the new mutants were so wtf, steve needs to chill even more, tags will be updated (obviously), the chapters get longer too, the first chapter always sucks ass just fyi, why is their relationship so sad all the time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-04-28 13:24:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 76,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14450184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1950/pseuds/1950
Summary: I wanted a Fallout 4/buckysteve for forever so someone had to do it (you're welcome). Bucky and Steve go from having an almost normal life after the war, until the bombs dropped and Steve was forcefully taken out of the Vault. Bucky's on his way to rescue him, even if it kills him. No one can hide from the Institute and it's best weapon: Steve Rogers.





	1. Going Home

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! I figured I'd write a new fic, especially one that's never done before. And since Fallout 4 is such a huge game, please forgive me if I leave out any details (it's purely accidental!). So with that I've done my best with this thing. If you don't want to read any pre-war chapters (you probably should though idk if it matters), then skip to chapter 7. I hope you like my big pile of shit!

The bombs dropped. There was a giant shockwave of air that came to them from that direction. There was commotion; yelling, pushing. The sound of “SEND IT DOWN! HIT THAT BUTTON!”. Then the sound of gears turning, moving the platform down right before debris and radioactive air came towards them.

The gate opened, and the Overseer from Vault 111 kept talking and talking, but Bucky’s ears were ringing. Something about “You’re safe,” and/or “Welcome”. And maybe saying certain instructions, since he’s pointing up the stairs, to his new home. Bucky looks to Steve to his right, almost as confused as Bucky is. He looks small in this new place, as he does in a lot of big, new places. Especially here, underground, while the world above them is burning away.

Steve used to be 5’4”, and now here he is, 6’2” and 240 pounds. All he wanted to do was to help in the war, and he got his wish. He wore blue tights for a whole year on stage, trying to get people to buy war bonds, though. The second he found out about Bucky’s platoon, he said “fuck it,” and went to go get Bucky on his own, to find a fucked-up Bucky. Neither of them will forget that day.

“Since when the fuck did you become a bodybuilder Steve?”

“Fifteen million years ago, Bucky.”

“I’m gonna kill you the second we get out of here, you know that right?”

“Yeah. I’d like to see you try, old man.”

“Fuck off.” The second Bucky saw the sun again after being a POW, it was the best thing he ever experienced. Until Steve’s golden hair reflected the sunlight into his eyes. A year later, after chasing bad guys with Captain America and The Howling Commandos, Bucky had to go home. He got a medal for an honorable discharge, at least.

Bucky had lost his left arm. He got shot and fell off a train onto the tracks, but rolled down a almost-steep, snowy hill. Nobody realized he was gone, until the mission was almost over. Bucky was laying there for God knows how long, the snow slowly falling on and around him. He kept looking at his arm; seeing how it was fucked up, and the blood around that side of his body. Each time he looked at it, he lost an inch of hope of being found and returned safely, with or without an arm.

Bucky remembers closing his eyes, the sunlight through the clouds warmed him only a tiny bit. He didn’t have the strength to open his eyes to check his arm, or even if somebody was coming. He couldn’t hear anything, either. _It’s over. I’m done._ Bucky thought. He had mustered all of his strength to open his eyes. The sun kept getting blocked out by the clouds, which had almost given up with bringing down snow on Bucky. His arm was worse. The snow next to it was almost brown; with the amount of blood he lost, he should be dead. He knew that. Bucky couldn’t turn his head back, and could barely keep his eyes open.

Bucky remembers panting, loudly, then softer has time went on. Each time he stopped, he managed to look around. No change. The next time he almost stopped, he reminded himself that Steve would never forgive him if he died, even as an old man. _Well it’s not my fucking fault, now is it? God fucking dammit_.

He died. The end. He forgot he was alive still, somehow. He couldn’t hear the silence of the snowy air around him, or any wind, or anything else near him. Until he did. _God, is that you? I can’t go yet. You and I know that Steve will kill both of us._

“What are you talking about, Buck?” Bucky could hear Steve panting. He opened his eyes as much as he could, to see Steve come up with a game plan as fast as fucking possible. He almost looked disgusted about the blood and the arm, even though he was partially kneeling in it. He was still dirty from their earlier mission.

“I’m ready to leave, Steve. Just keep me down here. I was almost dead, too.” Steve stopped what he was doing and looked at Bucky, wide-eyed.

“What are you talking about?” Bucky closed his eyes again and took something that was supposed to be a deep breath, but he couldn’t manage. “What’s the point? I had about 1 percent left of myself that hoped someone would come,” Bucky said. He opened his eyes again. “You’re not real. Wish you were, but you’re not. Love ya, but see ya.”

“What-” Steve had begun, but Bucky was gone. Lights out.

When he was back, he felt horrible. He sat up and saw a doctor on the other side of the room. “Is this heaven or hell over here? I’d like to know so I can go sit in a corner by myself for the rest of eternity.” The doctor looked at him, eyes wide, and almost ran out. “Hey! Get back here!” No response. “Goddammit.” Bucky said under his breath.

He sat back, and felt a twinge of pain on his left side. He saw something metal, and yelled. Nobody else in the room said anything, or even looked at him. He decided to get to the door as fast as he could, so he could get some answers. He managed to get about five feet from the door before almost collapsing, but a giant pair of arms lifted him up. It was Steve. Steve. “Are you dead too?” Bucky had asked.

 

Steve chuckled with a small frown. “No. This is real life, unfortunately.” Steve basically lifted Bucky up like he was a penny, and they went back over to his spot from before. Steve sat down in a chair next to him, and sighed.

“What?” Bucky asked. Steve didn’t answer. “ _What, Steve_?”

Steve inhaled deeply, then finally looked at Bucky. “It was my fault,” Bucky gave a quizzical look.

“Oh my _God_ , Steve don’t start this ag-”

“I left you back there. I didn’t notice. I didn’t notice until we were almost back here. Until I called your name, and you didn’t answer,” Steve said quietly, but his head down and fiddling with his hands. He took a deep breath again and continued. “I almost had a heart attack, Buck. I ran all the way around camp twice, before I gave up on the idea that you were hopefully back here, and safe. “But you weren’t, and..”

“And?”

“And, I almost started running back before I needed to bring a medical team. They told me they were busy, so I just took stuff I thought we needed, came with Dum Dum and Falsworth, and fucking searched, for you. Like you were an ant. I looked in bushes, for God’s sake,” Bucky snorted at that. “It’s not funny!”

Bucky put his right hand up in surrender. “Alright, alright. Damn,”

“It all happened so fast. Falsworth was the one to find you. Because of all that blood contrasting with your blue coat. That, and your gun, which was on top of the hill,” Steve finally looked back at Bucky. “Why did you say you wanted to stay?”

Bucky was quiet for a moment. “Because I finally got used to the fact that I was gonna die down there, and it’d be easier to do that instead of coming back to get fixed,” Bucky said. “ _However_ , most of my thoughts were you’d kill me if I died on you, but the two ideas kept getting mixed,”

“Yeah that would happen. You’d be dead twice,” Steve chuckled, quietly. “Anyway, the reason I wasn’t here when you woke up is because I was being yelled at, but whatever. It was worth it.” Both of them smiled.

A quiet filled the room. “How the fuck am I supposed to work this fuckin’ thing?” Bucky asked, looking at the metal that had replaced flesh and bone.

“I was told to just use it like you never lost an arm,” Steve said. Bucky looked at it, up and down, down and up. Then he saw the metal fused into the back of his shoulder, and around his armpit. He stared at it, shocked. Sure, it was metal, but it wasn’t rusted; it didn’t look like it could rust, even by the end of time. So, eventually, he decided to use it. Steve was right. It was like he was wearing a metal arm as a costume for Halloween. He thought it’d sound weird, like a robot, but it didn’t make any noise. “Huh.” Was all Bucky said about it, and that was that.

A few days later, the day Bucky was supposed to be checked out (even though he tried to persuade the head medic that he was perfectly fine. He was done staring at ceiling until Steve came to visit), a big guy in a military suit with medals on his chest walked in, Steve following, with a frown. _Oh, no_ , Bucky thought. The guy gave him a letter and a medal, but Bucky wasn’t listening to what he was saying. He was looking at the box and the letter, to Steve and back. That made him have a small frown too.

He thought it was something along the lines of: “Sergeant Barnes, you have been discharged, here is your medal, here is your letter, time go the fuck home.” The guy turned to Steve and whispered to him, patted Steve on the back, and walked back outside. Bucky and Steve watched him, until he was out of sight.

“I’m not leaving,” Bucky said.

“Yes, you are,” Steve said, sighing as he sat down next to Bucky. “

No, I’m _not_ ,” Steve put up his hand to stop Bucky.

“Look, Bucky, I’m not going to argue with you. It’s not my decision. But you-”

“If I don’t stay here, you’re going to get yourself killed!”

“Well _you_ already died once, so you’re going home so it doesn’t happen again!”

Bucky saw a doctor looking at them, then looked at Bucky, then left as fast as she could. Bucky sighed, and started to look at his hands.

“I can’t. I can’t go home and sit around all day thinking about you getting killed without me knowing until a month later with a letter, and your fucking body in a box,”

Steve’s watching Bucky fidget with his fingers. “I have Peggy, and the Howling Commandos. You know that,”

“Yeah? So?”

Steve put his head on Bucky’s knee. “So..that means I have six people watching my back like a hawk,”

“That’s weird,”

“Yeah, I know. I’m just trying to get the point across, Bucky.”

“ _Fine_.” Bucky had said that, but both of them knew that that argument wasn’t over.

***

The supply tent gave Bucky a duffel bag to put his belongings in to bring back home. He didn’t have that much to begin with. He had his clothes, and his somewhat cleaner blue winter coat, his dog tags, his letter, the box with the Medal of Honorable Discharge, a picture of his family, a picture of his sister Becca, a picture of Steve (from before he turned into a fucking giant), his ID, and travel papers.

Putting his metal arm into a heavy sleeve was super weird, but at least it didn’t hurt like he thought it would. In fact, his new arm way stronger than the right one, which fucked his balance a tiny bit. Steve walked with him to the airstrip. Steve had his hands in his pants pockets. _Oh no_. Bucky had thought. Steve with his hands in his pockets means something’s up.

Bucky stopped in his tracks, and Steve followed suit. “Alright. Out with it,” Bucky said.

“I don’t know. Just won’t be the same without you,”

“Yeah no duh,”

“Kinda wish you could stay.” Steve said. Bucky put down the duffel bag.

“Yeah, I know.” Bucky gave Steve one of those hugs that tries to squeeze the air out of you, but Steve’s like a brick wall now, so what’s the point? Bucky goes to hug him like any normal person would, but not a stranger hug. A close hug that lasts longer. Steve hugs him back, but somehow closer. Bucky put his face below Steve’s shoulder, and tried to hug him harder. They stayed like that for a good minute and a half.

When they pull apart, they stare at each other for a few seconds. Steve takes a look around them, and when the coast is clear, he gives Bucky a quick kiss.

“You know nobody cares about that anymore, right?” Bucky said, rolling his eyes.

“Some people do,” Steve said. He hugs Bucky one more time before letting him leave. “Be safe.”

“Yeah, yeah old man. Love you too.” Bucky said, picking up his bag, and walking to the plane that’s waiting for him. He gave Steve a wave before getting on the plane. Steve waved back, his frown a mile wide. Bucky sighed and looked out the window of the plane to watch Steve, who also watched him until he was out of sight.


	2. Sanctuary Hills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky gets settled in their new home, makes a friend, and waits for Steve to come home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you if you got this far! I promise you the writing gets better (personally post-war is written better since I actually have something to go off of but w/e).

The moment Bucky learned that their new home was in Boston, he had a scowl on his face for the next two days. He had argued about his and Steve’s home being in Brooklyn, _not fucking Boston_. The lady who told him this, gave him an answer that shut him up. “You’re moving to Boston, because you’re eligible for a place in a Vault.”

“Vault? The fuck do we need a vault for? This war is gonna be over, and-” Bucky started. The lady gave him a look that this war will be over, just not the way he wanted it to. _Me and Steve can spend the rest of our lives together, in peace…. Never mind, then_. She gives him money for a taxi, and continues with her workday, as if he wasn’t standing there in the first place. Bucky decided to go outside and wait in the sun, tilting his head up. The weather back here on the east coast (even though it’s not Brooklyn) is three times better than the weather he had stayed in for almost two years. No snow and harsh winds. But he was able to spend some of it with Steve. _Steve._

Bucky’s mind was blank the whole time on the plane back. Some of the other soldiers were looking at him and his arm, but he blocked it out, just like always. Until Steve would intervene and get his ass kicked, even though he’s _Captain America_. “Pfft.” Bucky said under his breath. Nobody would even dare to try and kick his ass (on America’s side).

The Chinese wouldn’t fucking care, not even if it was just him, and not his squad. But Steve’s got that stupid frisbee of a shield and six people following close behind him. Six people. _Oh God, what if someone already died? What if someone else got forgotten in the snow at the bottom of a ravine?_ No. Steve wouldn’t let that happen. Not again.

Bucky couldn’t forget Steve’s face when he told Bucky that it was fault that Bucky almost died. Even though it wasn’t. The only thing Bucky was mad about that whole situation was the fact that he thought Steve wasn’t coming for him. That he might’ve never thought about it. Maybe the next day or two, where he’d find Bucky’s body half-covered in snow and blood, and couldn’t do anything. Even with this day’s advanced technology, nothing could be done about it.

Steve would never forgive himself. Worst case scenario, he’d _give up_. The two words that could never be in the same sentence with Steve’s name in it. He couldn’t do anything about it, though. Bucky was also mad about how much Steve blames himself even though he didn’t have a place in the situation. He blamed himself about his mom, and letting a kid get killed on the front lines. But Steve had a job; people were depending on him. To get the Chinese to fuck off so everyone can go home and be safer than they had been in years. Bucky knows in his heart that everyone he cares about over there is alive, injured or not.

Even Peggy Carter. The woman that he’d try to not give her a stink eye or any other indication that she wasn’t his favorite over there. Top three, though (the more he thought about it, she moved into top ten). The way she and Steve would look at each other all the time didn’t sit well with him. And he couldn’t watch, either. Whenever they’d do that, he’d leave the area where they were, and go hang out with the other Howling Commandos, or just relatively by himself. He tried to not get jealous, every fuckin’ time; he couldn’t stand it. He knew it wasn’t fair; it wasn’t his decision to choose people Steve liked to be with at the time. He didn’t want to completely separate them, because that wouldn’t be fair either. They had to go over strategies and stats and updated info about what the whole camp needed to do and know. Steve, Peggy, Colonel Phillips, and others would go over this for hours, which gave Bucky more than enough time to let his mind wander.

He’d become used to the snow at that point. So he’d wander not too far out of camp, but where he was almost hidden by trees and he couldn’t feel the warmth of the fires around the camp. And every time, Steve would find him immediately. Like he put a tracker on Bucky to show him where he went. So, each time, Bucky moved places, maybe going closer to camp but still hidden in the trees (he hid right behind the strategic tent one time and it was the worst idea because there was a tiny plastic window he could see through, and he could feel Steve and Peggy’s attraction to each other from there. And somebody spotted him and yelled to Steve that he found him, too). “That’s not fair, man.” Bucky had said to the kid. However, the second the kid walked back to his own area and Steve began to walk out of the tent, Bucky ran.

Bucky _ran_ , and hid behind a tree with a thick trunk so no one could see his blue winter coat contrast with the dark bark of the tree. It took a while for Steve to find him. Bucky still doesn’t know how or why. Maybe to tell the kid to not prank him, maybe to go back to what he was doing, or maybe hasn’t started looking yet. Bucky knew his big footprints would blow his chance of being found really late, but no Steve. There wasn’t any snowfall that day, so his tracks wouldn’t have been covered. So Bucky stood there, looking around at his surroundings. He thought he saw a wild animal through the thick of the trees but couldn’t be sure. There weren’t any birds there, either. The sun was still high in the sky, he knew that as a fact, but barely any shined through. It was too quiet. Like he’d been transported to somewhere far away, where there weren’t any base camps, loud troops; the threat of dying any second vanished. There could be a log cabin across from him and he’d gladly enter.

Bucky had started to look at his hands -- they were starting to crack because of the cold. The were relatively clean, at least. He wondered if he should go further into the woods away from camp, or go back. Bucky finally looked back towards camp from his left side, and when he turned back, Steve jumped out in front of him, with his shield up and yelled, “HA!” Bucky had yelled, and reflexively pulled out finger guns, since his weapons were back at camp.

“Pow! Bow!” Bucky had yelled, too, pretending to shoot Steve from around his shield. “Not funny, Rogers,” Steve laughed.

“You and I both know that was hilarious,” he dragged out the word ‘hilarious’.

“Ha, ha, you got me,”

“Yeah, I know,” There was a silence, the cold air surrounding them. Snow started to fall. “What took so long?” Bucky asked.

“Oh, you know, being forced into small talk, and pranking that kid back,”

“Hey he was right! He totally fuckin’ caught me,” Bucky said, folding his arms. “You’re a cheater, Rogers,”

“I can’t find you _all the time_ , you know that,” Steve said. Putting his shield on his back. Bucky had thought that was weird, how he could hook it onto his back as easily like putting a coat on a rack.

“Yes you can,”

“Yeah, but what if I can’t? Then what?”

“Hmm. Guess I’ll just have to stay out here ‘til I die,” Bucky had said, not realizing that that was going to happen to him just days after this.

“That’s not funny, Buck.” Steve said, completely serious, even wearing his classic frown when he’s like this.

Bucky put up his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright. Chill out,” Steve didn’t say anything back. “Okay. I’ll try not to die until we’re both old as fuck in a retirement home with Becca watching over us, yeah?”

Steve sighed, his shoulders falling down into a tiny slouch. “Yeah.”

“Good. Well, now that you found me, let’s get back to camp before other people come looking for us like we died, or something.” Steve nodded, looked around, and quickly kissed him. Then started to walk, then stopped, waiting for Bucky’s slow ass to come back to reality. That tree seemed brighter, like the sun was acting as a spotlight. He didn’t want to move, but Steve almost had to make him. He should’ve carved their initials in that tree, so everyone can see that B.B. and S.R. loved each other very much. Until the end of time. But he didn’t.

***

The taxi picked him up exactly five minutes after he walked outside to sit and think about Steve. They went somewhere northwest. It took almost an hour, but the sign in front of his new neighborhood got his attention. “Sanctuary Hills”. The houses were colored bright, some blue, some yellow. People were outside doing normal things, like the rest of the world wasn’t on fire. There was a small barbecue going on, but the people who weren’t invited didn’t seem to care. Some were standing on their lawn with a water hose in their hand, another gardening, another simply sitting outside talking with drinks in their hands.

It was the cleanest neighborhood that Bucky had ever seen, or _been in_ , ever. He’s been designated this pristine blue house. It didn’t have a front porch (he honestly didn’t want it to, so he didn’t have to talk to these people, for as long as he could), but it had a small roof on the side where you’d park your car if it was raining. The taxi left as fast as he could, so Bucky was left standing there. Looking at the door. Remembering, that other people might be looking at him, he ran in, locking the door behind him.

Looking around, his back pressed against the door, Bucky had no clue how they weren’t going to be evicted out of this place within six months. Standing in front of the door, he took in his surroundings. Right in front of him on the floor, in a big box, had a Mr. Handy in it. _A Mister-fuckin-Handy_. To his right, was the tiny living room. There was a red couch, an ottoman, a record player, and a TV, too. The kitchen was open, with a small table, an island, a chrome refrigerator, and various cabinets.

Bucky put his bag down on the couch, and continued walking through the rest of the house. Down the hallway, the first door to his left was the bathroom, the first on the right was the laundry room, which was already stocked with plenty of Mr. Handy fuel, and Abraxo Cleaner. There was nothing at the far end of the hallway except a cabinet with cleaning materials, so he kept going at his usual pace. The next door on the right was a small room. It could either be used as an office, or, for heaven’s sake, a nursery. Bucky shut _that_ door as fast as he could. The last door, right across from it, was the master bedroom.

The bed in there took up almost the entire room; there was barely any walk space. It had two side tables, with lamps, a closet with more blankets and pillowcases. He realized that there were way too many picture frames, especially when the demo pictures were looking at him weird. He and Steve didn’t even have that many pictures combined. For the next thirty minutes, Bucky spent his time taking the demo pictures out of the frames. He’d rather look at wood then random people. He used a few for the pictures he already had with him, even though they were slightly crumpled.

There was food in the fridge. This new house was pre-prepared like a hotel. There was enough food to last a family of four for two months, Bucky had guesstimated. So he made the biggest sandwich he could while rationing at the same time. He had no plans to go outside for a long time. Maybe until Steve got home. Who knows? He had thought. He ate two sandwiches, two Nuka-Colas, and half a bag of chips. He came up with two options after cleaning up: try assembling that Mr. Handy over there, or go to sleep. The latter sounded better, by a hundred times. The problem was where he was deciding to sleep. He wanted to test both the couch and the bed. But which is first? If he went with the bed, he’ll just keep being reminded of Steve and his absence. If we went with the couch, someone could look in the window, see him, and knock on the door to introduce themselves.

He took the picture frames that weren’t empty with him to the bedroom and set them up carefully. He noticed that the curtains were open, so he closed them quickly, even though it was still nice and bright outside. In the closet, there were sweats that were a little bigger than him, but he was able to tighten it. He also put on a oversized t-shirt. He hadn’t been that comfy in months. The mattress looked like a cloud sent from heaven; he hadn’t slept on a real one in forever. He untucked the covers (is this seriously a hotel? he had thought) and took the two pillows on the other side to put next to him. One under his other pillows, and one next to him, like there was a person there. Like there was a Steve, but a smaller one.

He took the side closest to the door, in case someone tried to break in, he could stop them and protect Steve. But Steve wasn’t there. And he was big enough now to keep his own. Bucky got pissed about that. He doesn’t like when he can’t help Steve out, no matter what. Before his mind could wander more on that thought, he passed out. He didn’t even remember to turn off the lamp next to him.

***

He’s back in that dirty snow that’s covered in his blood. This time, Steve doesn’t find him. This time, he gets captured again. He gets strapped down onto that cold, metal table, and doesn’t help him about his arm. They get him to stop bleeding, but they don’t do anything with his arm. Until they decide to. His captors, with their blank eyes finally decide what to do with him. How much they can hurt him.

They saw it off.

They saw it off, not caring about Bucky’s screaming. They force him to look at what they’re doing, though. It’s like getting shot a million times. It’s like seeing them torture someone you love and not being able to do anything about it. Bucky would scream just as loud if they were doing this to Steve...

He switches places with Steve. But it’s not rocky adonis Steve, it’s small Steve. The 95 pound Steve, where you can see almost all of his bones. That wasn’t allowed to join the war in the first place. They’re doing the same thing to him. Bucky’s screaming is just as loud as Steve is, but Bucky is behind a glass wall, that won’t break, no matter how hard he tries. Behind the glass, Bucky is still forced to watch. A giant monster tearing Steve apart. Bucky’s screaming continues after Steve’s stops.

***

Bucky wakes up screaming. He doesn’t know where he is until he sees the picture frame with Steve in it. He has to take off his shirt, he’s so sweaty. Panting, he’s thankful that he fell asleep with the light on. He decides to peek through the curtains. It’s dark, but some lights are on in another house. There’s a clock on the wall. 12:30. “12:30 AM?” Bucky said. “Fuck.”

He gets the shirt off the bed, and uses it to wipe off the sweat that’s still on him. He throws the shirt in the laundry room, and runs to close the curtains in the living room. Then turns on some lights. _Can’t have commies sneaking up behind me_. Bucky goes to the kitchen for some water.

“Glad this doesn’t taste like shit.” He refills his cup twice more, then sees the Mr. Handy box still on the floor in front of the door. Bucky stares at the thing, like it’ll build itself. Wouldn’t that be something? He drags the box in front of the couch. There’s a slogan on the top: “‘Man’s best friend: reinvented’, huh?” Bucky says, like the thing can talk back. He exhales deeply and opens the box. He didn’t know what to expect. He thought he had to build it, like a dresser. But it’s already built. It’s just squished in the box, it’s legs cramped upwards, like a giant robotic spider. He takes the thing out carefully, and puts it in front of him on the floor. There’s Mr. Handy fuel, and instructions on customizing your own Mr. Handy.

Bucky knows that all of them have British accents, for some reason, so he knows he can’t change that. But at least it’ll keep him company until Steve gets home. _If. No, no, he’s coming home_. The second Bucky gives power to the robot, it shoots up to hover over the carpet, then turns to talk to Bucky.

Two big robotic eyes stare down at him. “Hello, sir! I’m your new Mr. Handy, from RobCo, ‘Man’s new best friend, reinvented!’”

“Uhh-” Bucky started.

“Forgive my manners! My name is Codsworth. Tell me what you want me to do, and I happily oblige!”

“Okay, uh, Codsworth,” Bucky said slowly. “Do you know how to make coffee?”

“That’s one of my specialties!” Bucky watched Codsworth glide over into the kitchen and find supplies for coffee. Then, Bucky sat up with an idea.

“Hey, Codsworth? You know where any paper and pen is?”

Codsworth turned his body and told Bucky that it’s literally right next to him. “Oh. Uh,” Bucky cleared his throat, “Thanks.”

He took the paper and pen to the island in the kitchen and started to write to Steve.

      _Dear Steve,_

_You’ll never fuckin’ believe where they moved us. Boston. I said our home is in Brooklyn, but I was told that we’re stuck in Boston now. Because of some ‘Vault’ thing? Y’know anything about that? Anyway, now we live in a place called Sanctuary Hills. It’s the cleanest neighborhood I’ve ever been in. And the people..and the people look too..calm. Like there’s no war going on right now. So we’ve been placed in a blue house (it looks better than the yellow ones, at least). This house, Steve. We can’t afford this. It’s too good to be true. If you have an idea of not getting kicked out of here I’m all ears. It’s better than our childhood homes and definitely better than our old apartment (even though I miss it. I wonder what it’s like back there??). Anyway, before I started to write this, I went through the house and it’s set up like a hotel. There’s already food, soap, laundry detergent, towels, blankets, pillowcases (what did I say about this being too good to be true?). I chose to sleep in the bed. It’s like heaven. It’s the comfiest thing in the WORLD, Stevie. But it was halfway ruined with a nightmare, but don’t worry about that. I just set up a Mr. Handy, of all things. Can you imagine? It’s crazy. His name is Codsworth, and I’m glad he’ll be keeping company ‘til you get back. WHEN you get back. And you’re getting the fuck back here ALIVE, you hear me?!?! I don’t care if you lost an arm (that’s still pretty fresh, by the way), or got hit in the face, you just get here. Or I’m gonna kill ya. So, right now, I’m gonna run out of the house to the mailbox (we got one that’s in front of our house and not in a box on the first floor!) because these people creep me out, maybe watch TV, and not even try to go back to sleep. If it happens, it happens, y’know? Be safe, and I’ll see ya when I see ya. _

_Yours, Bucky Barnes_

Bucky wrote on the front and back of the paper, put it in an envelope, ran outside to the mailbox, tipped up the red flag, and ran back in, locking the door behind him. He sat on the couch with his coffee, not really paying attention to the TV, or Codsworth for that matter. He slowly finished his cup of coffee, and the next thing he knew...he was out.


	3. The Letter

Bucky worries too much. But so does Steve. Bucky swears that both of them are going to worry so much that they’d have heart attacks. Bucky’s been peeking through the curtains all day every day for four days. He barely sleeps at night, and when he does, he keeps one light on. He’s not going through that fiasco of a nightmare again. He even asked Codsworth to set a timer just in case. But Bucky’s been relying on his body’s own timer. And it hasn’t let him down (that much).

The first day after he sent the letter to Steve, it was sunny, and everyone was outside. He saw people get in cars and leave for the day. He thought it looked fun, but then again he doesn’t want to leave. Not yet. He’s planning to go around to these new places when Steve finally gets home. Some people that stayed but were outside kept looking in.

Bucky tried to make it look like he left when they weren’t around, but they could probably see the curtains moving every time Bucky opened and closed them. No new mail. The mailman walked past the house like it wasn’t even there.

The second day, it rained. Bucky went to stand on the porch in the backyard, to take it all in with no one seeing him. He had Codsworth tell him if the mailman came, but he didn’t say. Bucky ran back inside, shuffling over on a towel over to his spot by the window. Just because someone let their dog outside. They could’ve or couldn’t have seen him. He doesn’t know. Hopefully, they didn’t. No mail. Not for anyone that day.

The third day, he finally stopped sitting by the window all the day, but still didn’t leave the house. He opened the curtains wide enough for him to see and hopefully no one else would notice. Codsworth, being the loyal servant to him, didn’t ask questions about this habit of his. He did, however, ask if Bucky needed anything from him. _That_ is _my job, sir_. He had said, but Bucky told him he’d tell him. So, hesitantly, Codsworth shut down, and looked just like he did when he was still in the box. He realized there was a bookcase that was almost completely full. He decided to read that day. He also decided to open the backdoor to let the cool air in. No one would jump the fence just to talk to him. He didn’t like that idea, so he closed it and locked it. He did so with the sidedoor as well. So, to let air in, he had to open the front window (even though he thought it was still worse than the backdoor idea).

The front window was actually two windows, which opened from both sides. He opened both a tiny bit, and moved the curtains mainly to the middle, so they didn’t blow in the wind, but still letting him see the street past the mailbox, where the mail truck would come from.

He forgot about the book he started, but didn’t sit at the window as much as he wanted to. Actually, after he ate, he gave up and fell asleep. He realized it was the worst idea of his life.

How was he supposed to know if there was new mail? Mail from Steve? Codsworth was shut down so he couldn’t tell him. And Bucky doesn’t want to wait ‘til it’s dark so no one sees him; he’d have to wait for at least a good two hours. However, he was anxious about it. Can Codsworth pick up mail without shredding it? If he could, Bucky would send him out. But, if someone saw a lonely Mr. Handy grabbing mail, they might want to come talk, and Codsworth would let them in (probably. Bucky would have to tell him not to do that).

He had an idea. He powered up Codsworth, and asked him, “Do you have cameras on while you’re on sleep mode?”

Unfortunately, he didn’t. Bucky was just going to have to sit there for almost two hours to check the mailbox. But... “Codsworth? Can I ask you something?”

“Always, sir,” Codsworth responded in his peppy British accent.

“Can..can you go get the mail?”

“Certainly sir!” Codsworth hovered on over to the door. Before he opened it, Bucky yelled, “Wait! If someone comes over here while you’re checking the mail, do NOT let them in. Please.” Codsworth gave him a ‘yes, sir!’ and went to the mailbox as fast as he could. He came back with nothing.

Bucky was gonna lose it. He closed the windows, spread out the curtains again, and slumped onto the couch. Then, someone knocked on the door. Both Bucky and Codsworth stopped what they were doing and looked at the door. Bucky put his hand up, saying “I’ll do it. Just watch my back, in case.” _In case what? Are you gonna kill the mailman?_ Bucky thought. He wanted to laugh at that, but didn’t.

Codsworth watched Bucky look through the peephole and sigh as heavily as no human in history had before. Then he put his forehead against the door, his hand on the doorknob, then the person knocked again. Bucky looked at Codsworth as he told him to go for it, so Bucky did.

It was some lady that he hadn’t seen. She had short brown hair and was wearing a yellow top and a flower skirt. She held up a letter, with Steve’s distinct handwriting on it. Bucky almost yelled at her to hand it over, but his mother taught him better than that. “I want to know what’s going on.” she said, not missing a beat.

Bucky looked at her. “Uhh..”

“Can I come in, please?” She asked, still holding up the letter as if he was a child and had to jump up for it. Bucky opened the door wider, and let her in, telling her to make herself comfortable, albeit forcing himself to be polite. She decided to sit on the couch, forcing Bucky to pull the ottoman closer to her.

“Can I have my letter..please?” Bucky asked, quietly.

“I want to know what’s going on here first,” she said sternly, holding the letter like it was her most prized possession. Right now, it was.

Bucky looked at it, then her, then had to go through with this conversation.

“What do you want to know?” He asked, trying not to be rude or yell, or both.

“I’m the head of the community here, and we want to know you. So, I’ve been sent here to get information.”

_Get information? Did you just come back from war too, lady?_ “Like what?” Bucky kept looking at the letter, so she put it under her thigh. He hoped it wouldn’t be crumpled by the time he got it.

“I promise you that you’ll get your letter back. So stop looking at it,”

Bucky sighed and put his hands up. “What do you want to know?”

“First off, who are you?”

“Oh, I’m Sergeant James Barnes. Wait. Who are you?”

“Oh. I apologize. I’m Mrs. Whitfield. So, you’re a military man?” Bucky cleared his throat.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You know, my son is. He’s not back yet. I fear the worst.”

“So do I,” Bucky said, looking her straight in the eye, “I spend every minute of everyday waiting for a letter-” he gestures towards it, “from the one I’m missing and wanting to know when they’ll be home. Even if it’s for a little bit.”

Mrs. Whitfield sighed. “I share the same feeling. But..why didn’t you introduce yourself?”

“I literally just told you-” Bucky looked away and cleared his throat. If he doesn’t get his hands on that fucking letter -- even though she promised -- he’s gonna fucking lose it. So he has to be patient, “ma’am. Why didn’t you come over?”

“You looked like you didn’t want company. Everyone agreed to wait for the perfect time to talk to you. And that’s right now. What do you think about this neighborhood?”

“Honestly? It looks super clean, especially comparing it to where I’ve been for months. Also, this house is already stocked with what I need, so that’s great for me.”

“Yeah, we set that up. No need to apologize, we get it now. You’re a military man that’s turned hermit until you get this damned letter. Maybe once you read it, you’ll come out? For at least _one_ get-together?” She said, holding the letter in her hands away from Bucky again.

“Fine, fine. Can I please, please have it now? Ma’am?”

“Here you go,” she gave it to him and both of them stood up at the same time. “Oh, by the way, nice robot. That wasn’t from us.” He walked her to the door, watched her get to her own home, then slammed the door closed and tore the letter open.

The paper was dirty; even had some dirt in the envelope itself. _Steve, I know you better than to be dirty. Even in war._ Bucky thought, but was relieved that it was finally _here_ , and in his own hands. And was thankful that that weird lady that’s head of the entirety of Sanctuary Hills doesn’t have it anymore. And, by the looks of it, she didn’t open it, or, if she did, she re-sealed it like a professional. That made Bucky have a bad feeling. Codsworth is definitely going to have to watch the mailbox sometimes, just in case. Codsworth didn’t have anything to do, so he told Bucky goodnight, and shut down in between the sidedoor and the tiny table by the TV.

Bucky held the paper in his hands. He hadn’t unfolded it yet. _What if something bad happened? What if I’ll never see him again? I know he’s not dead. You can’t write your own death letter..can you? No. Maybe it’s good news, but he didn’t have much time to reply. Yeah, that’s a good idea._ Bucky took a deep breath in, and unfolded the paper, dusting off the dirt. _Codsworth finally has something to do now._ Bucky thought. He was right. Steve had to reply as fast as he could manage. Bucky skims the letter and sees that it gets messy near the bottom.

_Dear Bucky,_

_‘Captain America’ has been very busy. Very, very busy. Didn’t even have time to think about you!! Had to read your letter quickly and respond just as fast. However, here’s what I’ll answer:_

_-Yes, I know we’ve moved to Boston for the Vault because 1 (he always circles his numbers, but didn’t here) They wanted CA to have special access with a plus one, so might as well._ _2, Brooklyn isn’t doing so well. Our apartment is gone. My heart sank when I heard the news too._

_-I haven’t seen the house yet, but if you like it, I’ll probably like it too. How’s the neighborhood? Scratch that. I don’t think I’ll be able to answer anymore letters. (NO, I’M NOT GOING TO DIE) just v busy._

_-Go outside! I’m sure the neighbors are fine._

_-Babe, I’d help with your nightmares, but I can;t right no w, sorry._

_-Hope you’ve been able to sleeP._

_-I swear to the Lord that I’ll retuurrrnn safellyy. Hopefully soon;_

_Yourrs, S. RR…_

Bucky holds the letter to his chest, wishing that Steve will be home soon, and _alive_. All he can do now is wait. Now he _has_ to go outside. He doesn’t have to wait for anymore letters. Everytime he thinks that, he holds the letters tighter and remembers that Steve promised he’d be home soon, safely, and alive. ALIVE! Bucky decides to move the ottoman back to the corner, grab blankets and pillows from the bedroom and lay on the floor next to Codsworth. He can’t wait to tell him the good news. He bets that Codsworth will be just as excited and happy as Bucky is. It takes Bucky a while to let the energy from his excitement out of his system, then manages to fall asleep, with no problems whatsoever.


	4. The Neighbors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and his neighbors get together, which he finds to be horrible, but his day takes a turn for the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to keep thank you guys for continuing to read this crap!

Bucky wakes up and feels good for once in a long while. He thinks back. The last time he slept that well was before he even went into the Army. That last night was with small Steve, on their squished tiny bed, in their tiny apartment. And now here he is. With a robot butler that’s his new best friend, the hope of the new adonis version of Steve will be home soon, this new home is better than anything (especially compared to tents in the cold weather), this new neighborhood, and kinda creepy but relatively nice neighbors. He wakes up before 11AM, and tells Codsworth the good news. He’s just as happy as Bucky is. He also tells him he feels better in general, and thanks Codsworth, who thanks him back. Then asks if Bucky wants breakfast.

“Do we have Sugar Bombs?” Bucky asked, actually sitting at the small table in the kitchen rather than the island or the couch. He saw that there’s actually three boxes of Sugar Bombs in a cabinet above the breadbox. Codsworth brings him cereal and juice, and Bucky thanks him graciously. When he’s done, all that’s left is the milk at the bottom of the cereal bowl.

He just realized he hasn’t taken the time for a shower. _Good thing Codsworth can’t smell_. Bucky thought. _Oh no. But Mrs. Whitfield can. Fuck me_. He took a long, hot shower. Something that hadn’t had in a long time too. He made sure to go over himself enough times that he was completely sure he didn’t stink anymore. When Bucky got out of the bathroom he ran to the bedroom. When he got there, he noticed that Codsworth had done the laundry, which included the sweaty shirt from the night he got here, the cloth towels used in the kitchen, and the clothes he was wearing when he got in the shower. _Man. This robot takes his job way too seriously._

He decided to go through the clothes that were already in the closet. They were weekend clothes; just a very casual version of what someone would wear to work. He decided on black pants, and a blue top. He looked like a guy on TV. The model American man enjoying the weekend.

When he walked to the front door, Codsworth gave him a super big compliment, and Bucky thanked him for everything, like he was leaving forever. He said he’d be back though.

He walked to Mrs. Whitfield’s house, enjoying the sun, and knocked on the door. She answered, still in morning mode. She was still wearing her nightgown, rollers in her hair, and some of her makeup was smeared.

“Oh, uh, Mrs. Whitfield. I’ll come back in a hour, yeah?” Bucky said, trying not to make a face at her. All she did was say he looked nice and nodded for him to come back later. Then slowly and quietly closed the door. Bucky walked back to his very bright blue home, and went to go sit in his backyard in the sun. There was already a lounge chair there. _Gonna need to get another one for Steve_. Bucky made a mental note about that. By the time he was almost hot, there was a knock on the door and Codsworth asked if he should open it. “I’ll do it, thanks.” Bucky said, sighing sadly about losing the warmth of the sun.

On the other side of the door was a more pristine Mrs. Whitfield, like the night before. “I see you’ve decided to come with us today,” she said.

“Yes, it seemed better now that I don’t have any letters to wait for,” Bucky said, and she gave him a face of pity. “Oh no, they’re coming home soon!”

“Oh! That’s fantastic! I hope I can meet them,”

“Yeah, they’d be glad to,”

She beckoned him to follow her out onto the sidewalk. “Hold on one sec,” Bucky said and ran into the bathroom where Codsworth was. “Hey, if a tall, blonde guy named Steve Rogers shows up, let him in, will ya? Thank you. I’ll see you later!” Codsworth didn’t have the time to respond to Bucky before he was gone.

***

The house with the big backyard and grill Bucky saw when first getting to his new home turned out to be the Whitfield’s. There, he was introduced as Bucky, and he didn’t meet as many people that he’d seen in the past few days. There was Mr. Whitfield, Mr. and Mrs. Able, Mr. and Mrs. Cofran, two ladies that went by the last name Parker (A.P. and M.P.), a few kids, and others that didn’t speak to him at that time.

Mrs. Whitfield told him that their original plan was to go to the park near downtown, but it was supposed to rain, so they decided to have a quick lunch together. All there was to eat was the official food of America: hamburgers, hot dogs, bratwurst, cans of chips. And lo and behold, the rain came not a minute after receiving his food. He added toppings to his hot dog, took chips, a Nuka-Cola, and yelled a big “THANK YOU FOR THE FOOD!” before he sprinted back to the house. Unfortunately, no Steve. Fortunately though, he didn’t get mustard on his clothes while running back. His clothes were barely wet, but he still took off his shoes in case they were dirty, and decided to eat at the island to chat with Codsworth.

“Hey Codsworth?”

“Sir?” Codsworth was down the hallway doing something Bucky didn’t know ( _probably putting away my shoes or something else of mine_ ).

“What do you think of the neighbors? Be honest. I won’t judge,”

“I’ve only heard a conversation involving you and Mrs. Whitfield. Personally, I did not like her; she was quite rude,” Codsworth said, hovering across the island looking at him.

“I agree. The other neighbors are fuckin’ weird. I don’t think they like me,”

“That’s preposterous, sir!”

“No seriously, Cods. I swear. Only two people out of twelve talked to me and that was the Whitfields,”

“I will admit that seems a little bit odd,” Codsworth said, happy to take care of Bucky’s paper plate and can of chips.

“Maybe because I didn’t go around the neighborhood and introduce myself the second I got here?”

“Maybe so, sir,” Bucky put his elbows on the counter and the palms of his hands on his chin. “I just want Steve to be here. Maybe that’ll change their opinion of me,”

“Steve, sir?”

Bucky seemed in a daze, thinking about when Steve gets home. “What? Oh, we’ve known each other since we were kids, and never separated since,”

“That sounds like a very serious relationship.”

“It is, Codsworth. It is.”

After he finished chatting with Codsworth, he went to take off his cliche clothes. His slacks looked weird to him, and his shirt, too. Comparing them to what he’d been wearing when he got here, and comparing them to what he’d been wearing while still serving, he looked out of place in his own head. _Maybe that’s why these people look at me weird._

He hung the clothes up and vowed to not wear them again until Steve got back. He thought he wouldn’t look as stupid if he and Steve were somewhat matching. _Would that make it worse, though?_ He pulled out his comfort clothes: the sweats and the oversized t-shirt. He just noticed that the sheets had been washed too, but was left folded on the bed for Bucky to put it on himself. He doesn’t blame Codsworth. The thing doesn’t have any fingers. The fact that he got it off is a mystery.

The sheets weren’t warm, but they were clean. And soft. The bed was tempting. He didn’t want to nap now, because maybe he won’t be able to sleep tonight, and will fuck up his sleep schedule once again. And, Steve might come home at any second and Bucky wants to be the one to open the door, not Codsworth. He decided to give it time until 10 PM, when was almost asleep.

He had been listening to _The Silver Shroud_ radio channel, and got really into it. They didn’t get this at the camp. He finally gave up on the next ad, and fell asleep on the couch.

***

“CODSWORTH!” Bucky yelled from the bedroom. He could hear the gas that keeps him hovering come as fast as he can.

“Sir?!” He was twisting anxiously.

“It’s my arm,” Bucky said, putting his arm out in front of him, letting Codsworth see. He’s standing by the closet, and put a mirror there, pulled the sleeve of his shirt as far up as he could. It’s not like anybody else needs it. “They probably think I’m fuckin’ weird because of my arm,”

“Sir, it’s not very funny to try and give me a heart attack. If I had a heart,” Codsworth said, laughing at his own joke. The tension he probably felt disappeared.

“I’m sorry, Codsworth,” Bucky said. “Can I make it up to you?”

“Let’s talk about it over breakfast?” Codsworth asked, and when Bucky nodded, he hovered out of the room, humming. Bucky followed suit, and sat at the small island. “Do we have anything besides Sugar Bombs?”

“I’m good at making pancakes!”

Bucky nodded. “Let’s do that then.” While Codsworth was busy with that, Bucky went to open the curtains a little bit more than they were the days previously. He also opened one of the windows a tiny bit. He asked Codsworth what the weather was like today. “A pristine 60 degrees fahrenheit, with a 60 percent chance of precipitation!” He had said, then switched the top of his body back to the stove. Bucky didn’t see any clouds, so he went to the backdoor, and, “Holy shit, Codsworth. Do you see this?”

Codsworth moved to stand next to him and look at the clouds slowly coming towards them. “Wow.” Was all Codsworth said, even though he stayed next to Bucky for another minute, watching the clouds. They were thick, and almost as dark as coal. Bucky loved these kind of clouds. Especially now, when he knew that snow wouldn’t be coming towards them. He’d had enough snow for a lifetime.

Codsworth made the best pancakes he’d ever had. Even better than his ma’s, and that’s saying something. They had the pancake batter and syrup in the cabinet, and butter and juice in the fridge. He didn’t use the syrup, like he usually would. The pancakes were fuckin’ beautiful, somehow. In the middle of finishing his juice, there was a knock on the door. Bucky almost choked on his juice, then ran to the door before Codsworth even thought about doing it himself.

Bucky slammed open the door and yelled, “STEVE!”. There was no Steve, but just a kid. Two people were outside, and they were looking at him weird for randomly yelling at some kid neighbor. Bucky’s shoulders sank, and he started wearing a frown. “What do ya want kid?”

“We got a call from some weird guy that was asking for you,” Bucky gasped. “Is he still on the phone?!”

“No, sorry. He called from the airport, thinking it was your house, but obviously it wasn’t. He said he’s trying to get here ASAP. Mom wanted to let you know.”

“Thank you. Very much, kid.” Bucky watched the kid run back across the street, then closed the door. “Man, Codsworth, I don’t think you any idea of getting excited about something that’s not there. What a disappointment.” Bucky sighed and took a chair outside to the front lawn. They didn’t have a front porch, he decided to sit next to the steps. The sun was still out, even though it was colder than yesterday. Bucky put his face up towards the sun, and Codsworth came outside to hover next to him and make small-talk.

“Codsworth?”

“Sir?”

“Are you a tattle-tail?”

“Do you mean I participate in gossip?” Bucky looked at him.

“I guess so, yeah.”

“No sir.”

“So you’re telling me, our relationship is like doctor-patient confidentiality?”

“Yes. I _am_ man’s best friend!”

“Would you..would you judge me?”

“You?”

Bucky looked back towards the sun. “Yeah.”

“No sir. I don’t even think I have the equipment to do that!”

Bucky chuckled. “That’s true. Thanks.” After a while Codsworth went back inside, letting Bucky alone to his thoughts. At least I know that Steve’s here. And _ALIVE_. In the same area as him. Just at the airport. But if he’s been at the airport for a while, why hasn’t he come home yet? Did he have to go to the medical center? Is he dying right now at this moment? No. Steve didn’t come all the way back to the east coast just to die here. And he wouldn’t be able to see Bucky for the last time.

That thought made Bucky jump out of his chair, and start panting. His heart is racing a million miles per second at that thought. No. _No_. Maybe he’s helping other soldiers get to the medical center. That seems like the better option. Since Steve’s too selfless, that’s where he might get killed or in trouble. Or autographs. He does have to carry that big ass frisbee with American colors on it on his back for everyone to see. But he wouldn’t have to be on a commercial plane. Bucky can only wonder.

The rain began to drizzle on him. He didn’t think the clouds would be here as fast. But, somehow the rain begins to pour thirty seconds after, so he has to run inside with the chair. He closes the window in the front until it’s barely open; the smell of rain is also one of Bucky’s favorite things. The room gets cold eventually, so he has to close it all the way.

For the first time since he got here, he opens the curtains all the way. He doesn’t care (okay, only a little bit) that the neighbors can see him, but he has to see Steve come up the street. He wants to greet Steve before Codsworth can. He’s so excited he can barely sit still. _Should I get dressed better? So I don’t look like a hobo? But Steve wouldn’t care. I know he’ll be just as happy as me when he gets here._

Bucky’s watching the downpour; the water between the pavement of the street and the curb is flowing down the street quickly. His attention moves to Codsworth, who’s floated towards him. “Sir, if I may ask, who is this ‘Steve’?” Bucky moves to talk to Codsworth but also see the street, just in case.

“Steve? I know I told you that we’ve been friends since fourth grade. I have a lot of stories, so you can ask as much as you want,”

Codsworth pretended to clear his throat. “What was it like when you were kids?”

“First off, we both lived in Brooklyn (I miss it). Anyway, we met because Steve doesn’t know how to give up on a fight. He doesn’t like bullies. No matter where they come from. Somebody’s gotta help him not get his ass killed, and that person was me. He always said, “‘I had him!’” and my response, every time, was, “‘Sure you did’.” He always got a little pissed when I’d help him. Actually, he literally almost died one time because he wouldn’t give up on a fight.

“His mom, Sarah, was a nurse, so she helped him in a special room, and lectured him about this habit of his. She was never one to yell. She set a good example. For both of us,” Bucky sighed, and looked down at his hands.

“She died when were still young. A little while after high school. Like anybody else, we grieved for days. Steve cried all the time. She was the last person in his family. His dad had died before his mom. So...now it was me, him, and my family. Steve couldn’t stay in that house, so we shared an apartment together, even though it sucked ass. It was small and only had one bed. At least there was hot water, though. But we made a new home, and were happy. We both had jobs -- Steve was off and on because he was so small and sickly. But a small business across the street gave him work on some days.

“Steve got fucked up every winter. Every time, I thought he was gonna die on me -- one time he was really-super close to, that I was gonna lose it. But, he’s the toughest person I’ve ever met. Even like that.”

“Even like that?”

“Oh. He’s changed. A _lot_. You’ll see (hopefully, Bucky had thought) when he gets here. He’s not 5’4” and 95 pounds anymore. He tried so hard to to get into army, he’d do anything. I was pissed about it, because now the chance you of getting killed was higher. But he saved me, this time. Fuckin’ twice. That’s why I have this arm,” Bucky said, flailing it around.

“It seems like you really care for each other,”

“Yeah. We do, Codsworth. He’d like you.”

“I can’t wait to meet him, sir!” Codsworth said, turning around to do whatever he was doing before.

“Yeah. Me too.” Bucky said under his breath, and returned to the window to wait.

***

His forehead was cold and started to hurt; it was on the glass for so long. His breath had made small marks on the window, and he had to rub them away... He realized it got quiet. He didn’t know what Codsworth was doing, and he didn’t really care to. The rain had stopped completely. The roof was still dripping, and the street was still wet. The sun was completely gone, and there were still clouds, but they had passed over his new neighborhood to the east. Toward the airport. That reminded him of Steve. Bucky sighed. “Oh, Steve. Where are you?” He looked at the clock in the kitchen. It’d been about 14 hours since that kid came to his door, both disappointing him, and making him somewhat happy. Steve wouldn’t be here for a long while, but at least he’s safe and alive. And not as far then they were earlier.

“Hey, Codsworth?” Bucky asked, and luckily, Codsworth wasn’t shut down. So he floated on over to Bucky.

“Sir?”

“I need you to watch the street real quick, please.” Codsworth replied with a, “Certainly, sir!” And moved to where he could see better. Bucky ran to the bathroom, washed his hands after, grabbed a blanket from the bedroom, grabbed a snack, and ran back to the window, thanking Codsworth for watching. Codsworth decided to shut down afterwards, and Bucky said goodnight.

Bucky had gotten used to sitting weird next to the window, but almost fell off adjusting his blanket. He gave up. As much as he didn’t want to, he did. And didn’t bother Codsworth while doing so. So he stayed crumpled up by the window, waiting for Steve’s slow ass to get here.

There was a knock on the door. The lights on the street were out, so Bucky couldn’t see outside. But he didn’t care. No one else would come and knock on his door at two in the morning. So he tried to get out of his blanket as fast as possible (it had twisted around his leg), but fell. Whatever. He leaped over the couch, and opened the door.

Standing on his doorstep was the embodiment of ‘a sight for sore eyes’. Steve was there, holding a duffel bag in one hand, and his shield attached to his back. Steve was wearing the biggest smile, matching Bucky’s. Bucky opened the door wider. Steve put his duffel bag and shield on the couch, and took off his shoes. Then stared at Bucky. Bucky pointed at Steve, and Steve followed his finger. “You scared me half to death, with that letter and phone call. Don’t do that shit again! Also, way to call the wrong fuckin’ house, dumba-” Steve took Bucky’s face in his hands and started kissing him. Bucky returned the kiss, relaxing.

“I’m sorry,” Steve said, drawing out ‘sorry’ when they pulled apart. “I had to help others to get medical help, and sign autographs,”

 “That’s literally what I thought,” Bucky said, tapping his finger on his temple and smiling.

Steve hugged him. “God, I fuckin’ missed you. You have no idea,”

“Yes, I do, dumbass. I think I had it worse. Didn’t know if you died or not,”

“Uhh, Bucky, why is there a robot on the floor?” Steve said, pulling away from Bucky.

“What? Oh, that’s a Mr. Handy. Don’t say anything to him right now. I don’t want him to spoil the moment,”

“Fair enough,” Steve said, looking back at Bucky. They looked at each other. _One more quick kiss._ “Tour?” Bucky took his hand and Steve followed him down the hallway.

“Okay, that’s the bathroom, laundry room, some weird ass room, and the bedroom,”

“What’s the ‘weird ass’ room?”

“I dunno. _You_ go look,” Bucky said, sitting on the bed, waiting for Steve to return. When Steve returned, he stood in the doorway, looking at Bucky. Bucky gave him a confused look. “Kid’s room.” Is all he said, then walked into the room. Steve went to the mirror in the corner. He stared at himself. “Do I really look this dirty?” He asked, turning around.

“Hmm, I didn’t notice,” Bucky said, laughing.

“Well, I’m showering. Yuck.”

“Alright.” Bucky said, watching him leave the room. Bucky heard Steve grab towels from the laundry room, and hear the bathroom door click closed. He decided to look at himself in the mirror, too. He hadn’t showered recently, and Steve has the strongest nose in the world. He shrugged his shoulders, and sat on the bed, staring at the door frame, waiting for Steve to get back. He wanted to get into the shower with him, but that bathroom can only fit one person at a time. And Steve needed a shower more than Bucky did.

So, he waited. Steve came back with a towel around his waist, and holding clothes. Bucky gasped. “The fuck did you do?!” Steve had cuts, bruises, and scabs (Bucky thought that was impossible so What. The. _Fuck_ ). Steve went back to the mirror. He had a giant cut on his left shoulder, from his shoulder, past his collarbone, to between his pectorals.

Steve looked at him in the mirror. “Nothing...”

“No, not ‘nothing’! The fuck did you do?” Bucky waited for an answer. “Did you get fucked up like I did?” When he said that, Steve looked at his arm, the one that’s glinting in the light. Bucky forgets about it, even though it kind of hurts sometimes. He remembered that he realized the neighbors think he’s weird is because of the arm. Steve sighed, and put on underwear and another set of sweatpants like Bucky’s but they were almost too small for Steve. He folded his towel and put it on the floor.

Steve went to close the door, then sat next to Bucky, and sighed. “No, I didn’t get captured, or fall off a train. I didn’t have my shield. Or my chest peice-”

“Why the fuck would you not-”

“Because, there was an infiltrator. The kid on lookout obviously didn’t do a good job. I had to stop the guy, but he a giant ass knife. You know I’m not good with knives,”

“No, you’re not,”

“Anyway, other people saw the commotion and came to help. They got him, but he fucked me up-”

“No fuckin’ duh,”

“Will you chill out?” Steve said, leaning back to get a good look of Bucky’s face. “They decided they didn’t need me anymore. I don’t know why. I asked, but got no answer. I offered to stay, but they forced-”

“You. You offered to stay?” Bucky said, scooting away from him.

“I was worried about my country. The people who were relying on me. _Innocent_ people, Buck. Including you,”

“Well, gee, thanks,” Bucky said. His night just got spoiled. Like milk.

“Do you know how I felt on the way home? I couldn’t sit still. People were lookin’ at me weird,”

“We have that common,” Bucky said. He had started to look at hands, and fiddling them. Steve took his hands in his. “I still had a job to do when I got back to the east coast, though. I did it as fast as I could. Then I got swarmed by people who wanted autographs; I managed to get out of there as fast as I could. Then I called, the wrong house, and had to wait. You have no idea how busy it was down there,” Bucky wasn’t looking at him. More time away? Where Steve had more of a chance to die? It was pretty high, after that fiasco. Here, he’s safe, and with Bucky. For the first time in what seemed like years. Codsworth couldn’t make up for Steve’s absence, even though he tried his best. He was grateful for Codsworth. It was better than sitting at a window, not eating, and not talking. He wouldn’t have had anybody to talk to. Those neighbors are weird, so he was right about staying home instead of introducing himself the second he got here.

“Hey. I’m here _now_. That’s all that matters, right?” Steve said, lifting Bucky’s chin, forcing Bucky to look at him. He sighed and nodded his head. “Do you have any food? That’s _good?_ ”

“Yeah. Follow me.” They walked together down the hallway to the kitchen, trying to not reboot Codsworth. There was still pancakes from earlier, but almost no juice. Steve took some, put a big glob of butter on the top, no syrup as per usual, and decided to just go with water.

They sat there, Steve giving small pieces to Bucky, even though he insisted that Steve had it all. He hadn’t have this good of food in months. Or water, for that matter. So Bucky found the biggest cup he could and filled with it almost to the very top, and slowly walked back to the bedroom, so he wouldn’t spill it.

“Did you know,” Steve started, after coming back from washing his hands. One of the things his mom loved about Steve was like he never used silverware when eating pancakes. “I haven’t felt this good, in like..forever?”

“Yes. I can believe that one,” Bucky said, his back against the headboard.

“Did..Codsworth make those?” Bucky nodded. “That’s what I thought. You can’t make pancakes for shit,” Steve said, and dodged Bucky’s hand from hitting him.

“Fuck you, Steve. Pancakes are fucking weird,”

“It’s not that hard. It’s just a small version of a cake. That you cook on a stove instead of the oven,”

“Well, you’re the baker, here. _Human_ baker. I know we have the batter for it,” Bucky said.

“True,” Steve said, then flopped down on his stomach next to Bucky, looking up at him. “So, what’s been going on here lately?” Bucky adjusted himself so they were both at eye-level.

“Well, you know that I’ve stayed inside almost everyday. Or at least, stay on our own space. Where I didn’t have to talk to anyone. The weather’s been crazy. I’ve been sitting in sun, when I wanted to at least. The only fuckin’ reason I had to meet the other neighbors is because fucking Mrs. Whitfield stole the letter from you. She wasn’t as nice as she looked,” Steve was watching him talk.

“Oh yeah? How’d she get the letter? Did she break in?”

“No, I accidentally fell asleep waiting for it. I spent three days waiting for the fucking mailman and the one time I’m out, he comes. Codsworth was shut down too, so we were fucked from the beginning,”

Steve sat up on his elbow, his chin on the palm of his hand with a small frown. “You’re telling me..you were awake for almost three days, just waiting for a letter?” 

“Well, I took a one nap a day, while Codsworth was watching what was going on outside. The curtains were only open enough so both of us could see outside when we switched. I locked the other windows and the doors. These people are weird, Steve. Like we’re on TV or something,”

“You spent three days in the relative darkness of the living room, peeking out the window just for a letter?”

“The people kept looking at me. So that part wasn’t fun either,”

“Did you ever go outside?”

“Yeah, after Mrs. Whitfield stole that fucking letter. We made a deal. Steve, those weird clothes that you see on TV was what I had to wear. Fucking pressed pants and a buttoned shirt, that everybody else tucked in. There was a barbeque at the Whitfield’s house, but not everyone was invited. Oh yeah, Mrs. Whitfield is the head of this neighborhood. Planning events or something was her deal. “There was Mr. and Mrs. Whitfield, the Ables, the Cofrans, two ladies, and about four other people that didn’t introduce themselves, but who cares? Maybe they’ll talk to you. Thank fucking God that it started to rain because she wanted to go somewhere for a picnic or something. I got a hot dog, a Nuka-Cola, and chips. Then ran the fuck home, got out of those clothes, and finally gave up with sleeping,”

“Wow. That’s wei-”

“Oh yeah! I started listening to _The Silver Shroud._ That’s crazy. I think you’ll like it. And my favorite kind of clouds rolled in,”

“Oh yeah? How dark?”

“Dark as coal. It was _crazy_. Even Codsworth thought so. It _poured_. You have no idea. I think the house at the bottom of the street could've flooded, there was so much,”

“I really missed a lot, huh?” Steve said, putting his head back on his pillow.

“It’s a thousand times better now that you’re here.” Bucky said smiling.

“I’m glad I’m here. No, wait. I’m, uh... thrilled. Yeah. Thrilled!” Bucky laughed.

“Not as much as I am!” He started poking Steve on the side, tickling him. “No, no! Uh, uh. You’re gonna get it, kid!” Steve said, getting up, tickling Bucky until he was out of breath.


	5. A Whole Lotta Kissin', a Whole Lotta' Laughin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shirtless Steve, and Bucky's wet butt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad you've gotten this far! (the chapter summary isn't as weird as it sounds, I promise lmao).

Unfortunately, their bedroom window faces east. So, even though the curtains are closed, Bucky woke up by the light. He realized that Steve was next to him. _Steve. Alive and well, next to Bucky. Made him feel 100% better. Even fixed his almost broken heart._ Steve has the tiniest of cuts and bruises on his back. Bucky didn’t even think that was possible, due to the super serum Steve had injected into his body. Bucky was pretty sure that if he got shot he’d be able to squeeze it out, like it was nothing. He keeps forgetting, -- he doesn’t know how or why, that Steve isn’t small anymore. Sure, Steve’s still his, and it’s job to protect him, while Steve does the same for Bucky. But it’s a new Steve that Bucky hasn’t gotten used to. He’s been with the small version of Steve for almost all their lives. Next thing he knows, he’s some bodybuilder that looked like he took way too much Buffout all at once.

But Steve is back with him, they’re both safe, and they plan to go on like this for the rest of their lives. Man. I hope that doesn’t change. Bucky thought. He’s 99.9% sure that it won’t change. _Who knows?_

Steve’s blonde hair somehow always is able to reflect the sun onto something else. He’s the one who wakes up first. But, Bucky thought, my sleep schedule sucked ass too. Whatever. It the first time in a long time that he had slept well in an actual bed. Not on the floor in the living room next to Codsworth’s shut-downed body. The sun’s barely even up, and Bucky’s feeling like a new battery, that was charged overnight. So now it was Steve’s turn to do the same.

So, he gets up as quietly as he can, opens and closes the door, and sees that Codsworth is still shutdown. Does he have a timer? Bucky thought. He shrugged, and went to look outside the window in the living room. He finally opens the curtains all the way, moving everything to one side. No one’s outside yet. He definitely thought someone in this weird neighborhood would be. The weather’s considerably better.

When he went to open the backdoor, he finally saw someone. They were letting their dog outside. They didn’t see Bucky. Or at least, if they did, they didn’t acknowledge him. He guessed it one of the ladies from the barbeque, maybe A.P. He couldn’t figure it out from there, so he went back inside.

There was fruit in the back of the fridge, on the very bottom, was a grocery bag filled with fruit. He grabbed it, trying not to knock over anything. He put the bag on the island. The bag was filled with big red and green apples, and some baby oranges. He took a big red apple, saving the green ones for Steve.

“Hey, I can make juice with those oranges.” Bucky said, but remembered that pulp is disgusting. He sat at the table, closest to the backdoor. The Silver Shroud didn’t come on until ten, so he just had to wait. He didn’t want to wake up Steve with the radio or TV, so he sat in silence, the apple and the dog wanting to get back inside were the only sounds. The birds weren’t even awake, to scream for three hours straight.

It was one of those mornings where you didn’t have to do anything, and that includes going to talk to his neighbors. What would he say? He didn’t really talk at the barbeque, besides introducing himself, and asking for a hot dog from Mr. Whitfield. What would Steve say if he was there? He was better with public speaking than Bucky. If Steve was there that day, Bucky would’ve followed Steve, jump into conversations when needed, and take food with him on the way.

When Bucky was done with his apple, he decided to go in the backyard. The grass was still wet with dew, but he went anyway. He went all the way to the back, where the fence closes him off. There was a creek there, still heavy with the rain from before, but it’d slow down eventually. He threw the apple core across the creek onto the small hill, for the squirrels to eat. Luckily, it didn’t roll back down into the water.

“Hey,” Steve said, behind Bucky, scaring him. Steve was standing in front of him without a shirt on. _What a sight._  He wondered if his neighbor was still outside, and her reaction to Steve _and_ him being shirtless. 

“Why are you shirtless, Steve? It’s not warm enough,” Bucky said. Before Steve could reply, Bucky looked down at his feet. His socks were entirely soaked. “Y’know what? Tell me inside.” Bucky said, quickly walking back, taking off his socks before going inside. Codsworth was still shut down, for some reason. Bucky shrugged it off and put his wet socks in the clothes hamper. It was the only thing in there, since Codsworth is too good at his job. Both of them went to the bedroom, so Bucky could get new socks, and throw a shirt at Steve to put on.

“Didn’t you say you assembled Codsworth not wearing a shirt?” Steve asked, before putting on the shirt that was almost a size too small. _These neighbors didn’t account for_ him _, did they?_

“Yeah, but that’s different,” Bucky replied, and stood up after putting on his socks.

“How?” Steve asked, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Because I’m not a bodybuilder. And, I didn’t have a million cuts all over me. And..I’m, uh, average.” Bucky said, walking past Steve and down the hallway, but Steve took his arm and pulled him back into the bedroom. "Average? You're not  _average,_ Buck," Steve said. 

"Oh yeah?" Bucky responded, getting his arm out of Steve's grasp. 

"Yeah," Steve said, now taking both of Bucky's arms. 

"How," Bucky frowned. _"How,"_  

"No man has a body like yours. Yours is too perfect,"

"Have you been a perv and lookin' at guys' chests?" Bucky asked, dumbfounded. "What the fuck man?"

_"Oh my God, no!"_ Steve started blushing. Even though he's got super serum in his blood, that doesn't stop him from blushing all over his entire body.  _That_ made Bucky laugh. Calling Steve a perv was really funny to him for some reason. He doesn't know why, but it does, even though pervs are horrible people. Bucky's laugh was always contagious to Steve, no matter the circumstances. Steve tried to stifle the laughing with a kiss, but that barely worked. 

Steve took a deep breath in to stop the laughing, and squeezed Bucky's arms. " _Look_ , all I'm saying is that no human being on this earth is as handsome, strong, loving, funny, and smart, you  _nerd_ ," 

"Okay just because I pulled you to that science fair does  _not_ give you the right to call me a nerd," Bucky said. Steve got him to  _blush_ Nobody's been able to do that except a girl in fifth grade (they had 'dated' for most of the school year, until she left to another state. Bucky wonders what she's up to and what could've been. But  _he_ has Steve, and he's positive she's got someone too).

Steve chuckled and nodded. "Whatever you say, kid who got an A+ on every science fair project," 

"God, I hate you," Bucky said, still kind of laughing. They kissed long and hard, then Bucky started laughing again for no reason, ruining the moment, if only for a second. They finally went back towards the kitchen once they were done fooling around in the bedroom.  _Fuckin' guys' chests?_ Bucky still thought that was funny, if though he said it over five minutes ago.  _Man_. Moments like those reminds him how much he loves Steve. 

Codsworth was finally powered up and floating around, looking for something to clean. He started sweeping. Bucky didn’t even know where a broom and a dustpan was in the entire house.

“Hey, Codsworth,” Bucky said, saluting him, and sitting on the couch.

“Good morning, sir!” Bucky gestured to Steve. “This is Steve, Codsworth,” Codsworth floated on over to Steve and held out a robotic limb.

“Good to finally meet you, sir! Mr. Barnes told me all about you!” Steve looked at Bucky, then shook the limb Codsworth moved towards him. “Nice to meet you too... Codsworth,” Codsworth floated on over towards the window, and noticed that the curtains were completely open. “Did you do this, sir?” He asked Bucky.

“I did. I feel way better now,”

“Good to hear! What would you like for breakfast?” He asked, twisting towards Bucky, then to Steve. “I already had something, thanks,” Bucky said, then gestured towards Steve, who was standing there awkwardly, trying not to stare at the floating, talking, robot. “Steve?”

“Oh! Uh, I heard you make killer pancakes?” Steve asked.

“Oh no, sir! I don’t kill. But my pancakes are something else!” Codsworth replied laughing, and floating on over to the kitchen like he had everyday before.

“Thanks...” Steve said, then sat by the window, looking out. Just like Bucky had. “Man, seeing it in the light is almost as weird as seeing it at night,” Steve said.

“Oh yeah? How so?” Bucky replied, watching Steve intently.

“It’s...different. Really clean, like you said. And the cliche of a perfect American suburb. The exact opposite of home,” Steve said. Bucky slouched at that. He didn’t want to compare this place to their apartment in Brooklyn. It’s like being homesick, and there’s nothing you can do. But there’s Steve, standing in the sunlight, looking like a Greek god. Bucky thinks he looks like Ares, has the spirit of Apollo, and, because of Steve’s nature to blame himself for everything, Atlas. He wasn't condemned by Zeus to do that. Or anyone else, for that matter. He can’t hold the entire world on his back forever, even if he thinks he should.

Sometimes, Bucky has to remind himself that home isn’t just a place, but a people. And if not a people, a person. And that person is Steve. He knows that. Bucky hears cars start up. “Hey, Codsworth? What’s today?”

“Monday, sir!” Bucky nodded at him, then went to look out the window. Almost everyone was leaving for work, their wives waving them goodbye. T _hat would be Steve, and I’d be the housewife doing nothing all day. Again._ Bucky thought. He wasn’t gonna act like a kicked puppy anymore. Once he accepts the fact that Steve isn’t leaving forever, he’ll stop acting like it.

“Let’s go out,” Bucky said. Steve turned to face him.

“What?”

“I _saiiiiddd_ , let’s go out,” Steve looked at him weird. Bucky looked back, waiting for an answer. “Alright. Forget it,” Bucky said, waving his hands, moving to leave, but Steve grabbed his hand.

“Buck, we don’t even know this place. Where would go?”

“I dunno. Walk around? Find a park?” Steve nodded. They shared Codsworth’s famous pancakes, got dressed to look like normal people (no slacks or tucked-in shirts), asked Codsworth if he knew any good places (he didn’t), so they left, with no destination planned.

 

Steve wanted to go out of the neighborhood the way they came in, but Bucky remembered the creek from before. Steve agreed, so they walked back into the house, said hi to Codsworth, walked out, and jumped the fence in the backyard. They went northeast up the creek, walking in the water without their shoes and socks on.

By the time they passed the house next to their own, Steve broke the silence. “Hey, Buck?”

Bucky stopped and looked at him, balancing on the big rocks under the water. “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry,”

“What for?”

“I guess for not getting home as soon as I wanted to,” Bucky began walking again, so Steve followed suit.

“It’s not your fault, Steve,”

“I just..” Steve stopped again.

“Just what?”

“I wish we could’ve gotten here together. Like an old married couple,” Bucky laughed at that. That’s one of his favorite jokes. “No, seriously. You shouldn’t have had to worry and wait for so long. I’m sorry,” Steve said. Bucky gave him a small frown for acting like Atlas for the billionth time.

“Steve. You’re not Atlas, so fuckin’ stop blaming yourself,” Steve looked at him wide-eyed, like calling him Atlas was a preposterous thing to do. “All I was worried about was you not coming home alive. The last time we would’ve seen each other would’ve been back _there,_ where it sucked ass. You don’t know how grateful I am that you’re here at home. Safely,”

Steve took his hand. “I promised myself that the only time I’d die is when we’re both old together, like you said,” They smiled at each other, and when they started to walk again, Bucky slipped on a rock, and half of his pants got wet. Steve laughed, and helped him up.

“Not funny, Rogers,” Bucky said, wiping his hands on the dry part of his pants, and grabbed his shoes before they started to float down the creek. He looked at the wet spots, which made him look like he didn’t make it to the bathroom on time. “Aw, man..” He saw Steve do his signature, look-around. Bucky rolled his eyes right before he kissed.

“You know you don’t have to do that right? People don’t care about that anymore.”

“Some people do.” Steve said, taking Bucky’s arm in his and continued walking.

Supposedly, there was a lake right next to their neighborhood. That’s probably why there was a bridge to get from the outside street into Sanctuary Hills. It _is_ hidden by the houses in front of it, so neither of them had any idea. There were only two or three people there, but all the way on the other side, where they wouldn’t be bothered. The lake was filled with probably more water than usual, Bucky guessed, since the rainstorm. There weren’t any fish, but there were ducks floating about, mainly staying in the middle. They stayed there, faces tilted towards the sun, for almost an hour. When they went back home, they decided to walk single-file by the bushes and fences. Bucky’s ass was still wet. Steve still thought it was funny.

They didn’t really do anything that day; just stayed close together like glue. Just in case. But they both knew that nothing was going to go bad, since they’re together again. Hopefully.

***

Bucky likes to go over the time that they officially became an item. Or, at least, the short time before, during, and after the war split them apart. But he knows that they’ll be able to come back together, and live in peace. They basically are already, right? It was after they moved into their small apartment, that they still could barely afford. Almost everybody suspected, but didn’t say anything. Steve’s mom was okay with it, and so was Bucky’s. That’s all that really mattered, right?

The only people who weren’t were some of their teachers in high school, and the bullies that regularly beat Steve up. But they were bullies, so Steve was their initial target, anyway. But, they both graduated, and so did those fucks, and they went their separate ways. As far as possible. Last they heard, one was in jail, the other two joined the army for no reason (one of them died; he couldn’t remember), so they were fine.

Steve’s mom died right before they moved in. The money they got for selling his old house gave them enough to last for almost 6 months (if they didn’t buy a lot of groceries at one time). As much as Steve didn’t want to let go of it, he also couldn’t bear to live in that empty space, where all the laughter and memories had disappeared. It only stuck with two people now. They thought that was good enough. They took that warmth and happiness and stuck it into the smallest apartment he’d ever seen. He was grateful for it, but he always thought apartments were _way_ much bigger.

It was almost as small as the house they’re in now. But on the 7th floor, with no elevator, so Steve almost died going up it all the time, his asthma was so bad. But that disappeared, years later. Their neighbors weren’t as weird as the ones in Sanctuary Hills, but they were..meaner. Worse than fucking Mrs. Whitfield. But, him and Steve tried to be as polite as possible when they were in their presence.

Bucky still had his job from before they moved in together, but Steve didn’t. So they went job looking together, and most everyone thought Bucky was applying, not some grown adult that was almost as small as a kid. But eventually, they found a small business down the street, where Steve could work part-time. It was good enough, so they agreed. Bucky was that person, who would go to bars every Friday night, maybe to meet women, dance or just drink only. It was mostly all three. He’d drag Steve with him every time. Now, looking back, it didn’t seem that good of an idea, since Steve looked miserable almost every time. Even when Bucky introduced a girl to him, she sat with him long enough to make it seem like they had a conversation. Then made a face at him, and leave. Bucky still doesn’t know why. Anybody would be lucky to have Steve. Even Bucky himself.

Only a few times, he’d bring home girls, and Steve would have to sleep in the living room. Bucky still feels bad about making a person with a bad back sleep on a couch that would fuck it up even more. He knew that Steve could hear the girls say to him: “that weirdo guy lives with you?” and “he better not eavesdrop” and “lock the goddamn door or we’re not doing this”.

And every time, in the morning, Steve wouldn’t be on the couch, or anywhere else in the apartment. He’d usually be downstairs in the lobby, or just walking around (close to the building, so Bucky could find him if he got into a fight (he did, twice. He had to run past the girl to help him, since the alley was on their side of the building)). During breakfast they always never spoke about last night if Bucky had brought a girl home. They wouldn’t even keep eye contact. They’d eventually get back into normalcy, where there was no tension, by the afternoon. Bucky regretted bringing someone home every time. It wasn’t fair for Steve. And hated the fact that anybody he tried to set Steve up with ditched him almost immediately. Even if they came to the place alone, with no goal to hook up with someone by the end of the night.

They hadn’t gone to the bar in two weekends straight. When Steve asked why, “Why don’t you want to go have fun? It’s Friday, y’know.” Bucky straight up told him. That he felt bad for bringing Steve just so he could feel miserable and that him hooking up with girls in their shared room wasn’t fair. “Then go without me. I’ll see you Saturday. Go have fun.” Steve had said, continuing his drawing of a random woman’s face. Maybe someone he saw come into work? Bucky still doesn’t know where he got the talent to do that shit.

Bucky stood in front of him, his arms crossed on his chest. “No.”

“Yes,” Steve said to him, not even looking up from his sketchbook.

“If I go by myself, I’ll be miserable.” Bucky said.

“We both know that’s a lie. See ya.” Steve looked at him, took his things with him, and went into their bedroom. “HEY!” Bucky chased him, but Steve had already locked the door, and Bucky wasn’t about to break it just to continue a fight. “OPEN THE DOOR, STEVE!”

“GO TO THE FUCKING BAR! I’LL BE HERE, DON’T WORRY!”

Bucky banged on the door. “Fucking open the door, Rogers!”

“I’d like to see you make me,” Steve had replied.

“That’s not fair. I’d have to get inside first.” Steve didn’t reply. Bucky put his ear on the door. He still thinks that Steve was changing the sheets and pillowcases, even though they were washed the day before. Bucky always washed the sheets after a one-night stand. They only had two different bed sheets, either way. Bucky had waited at the door for another five minutes after Steve had stopped what he was doing. He had sighed and knocked on the door as softly as he could. “Steve..please open the door.”

There wasn’t a sound afterward. “Steve?” Bucky put his ear back on the door. He knew Steve was in there, but wouldn’t reply. Bucky slid down the door to sit on the floor. He asked Steve to open up twice more within ten minutes. He knew Steve wouldn’t fucking calm down that fast. The fights he gets in last way too long than any other person in the whole world, Bucky was sure. But not with Sarah. Sarah Rogers was the light of Steve’s life (even brighter than Bucky, somehow). He could never stay mad at her, let alone get in fights with each other. Bucky’s only known one fight they got into, and it didn’t last past ten minutes.

“What would your mom say, Steve?”

“Don’t you dare-”

“You and I both know she did not condone fights that lasted over ten minutes. It’s been twenty. That’s _double_.” Steve didn’t reply. Bucky sighed. “What do you want me to do, Steve?”

“Dance.”

“What?” Steve opened the door, and Bucky fell backwards onto Steve’s feet.

“I want you to teach me how to dance. Maybe a guy with regular feet can get a date.”

“Uh, okay.” Bucky got up, and found a radio station that was classical music only. It’s how Bucky learned the basics, before he learned about swing. Bucky took Steve’s left hand, and put Steve’s right hand on his hip. “‘Kay I’ll lead first, and you can go second. You are the _man_ , after all.” Steve didn’t say anything but nodded. Bucky taught him the box step. “The easiest dance in the entire world,” he had told Steve.

They practiced that for an hour, then the three-step. That was probably easier, Bucky had thought, but that’s just how it went. Then, they started with the spinning. Steve didn’t twist the right way, until about twenty minutes after. When he did, Bucky yelled and applauded him. But, Steve had to spin back. That was almost as hard, but he got it down faster. Steve was always a fast learner, but not so when it came to dancing. Dancing was one of things Bucky knew _he_ could _never_ fuck up.

They tried the whole routine again, until Steve didn’t mess up once. They took a break, and Steve asked if Bucky could teach swing dancing. Bucky said he’s bad at it, but Steve had retaliated with “I’ve seen you do it a million times. So you have to.” Bucky told him it took _him_ forever to figure it out, so there was almost no hope for Steve’s sake. But they tried it anyway. Bucky thought it would’ve taken twenty million years, but he got it down. Not as fast as the dancing from before, but he got it down. Somehow. Bucky doesn’t have an explanation for that. Biggest mystery of his life.

Steve said that he didn’t want to learn how to lead. _Weird, but okay_. Bucky had thought, but just nodded towards Steve and gave him a thumbs up. Their last dance together was the stupid box-step. Not three-step or swing or something else. When Bucky pulled Steve back in from the spin, they were way too close, compared to the other times. He could feel himself blushing, and could see Steve doing the same thing. Steve was already looking weird from dancing for so long, but it was even more weird, since Steve is a full-body blusher.

Both of them said ‘fuck it’ in their heads, and kissed each other. They hit noses, though. Bucky had forgotten that Steve’s never had a first kiss. Not from anyone he’s been set up with. Not even a kiss on the cheek. That shit boggles Bucky’s mind every time he thinks about it. But, he always feels a sense of pride and happiness for being the one to do it, even though it was sloppy.

They pulled apart, and Bucky took the reins. He had held Steve’s head in his hands so he wouldn’t move, so they didn’t fuck it up the second time. And they didn’t. It was probably the best kiss either of them ever had, even though it still sucked, especially compared to now.

They didn’t really know what to do after that incident. _Are we together now? Exclusively? I’ll admit that I want it to be_. Bucky didn’t tell Steve that for days. He was scared that if he did, would their relationship be rocky forever? Or would it make them even closer? He had watched and waited for the perfect time to tell him. He had felt like was asking Steve to marry him, even though they’d never have enough money for a good-looking ring. For either of them.

Steve asked why the fuck Bucky was staring at him for days. Bucky blurted it out, and Steve didn’t say anything; just looked at him. For what felt like hours. He couldn’t look away either, because that would make it even more awkward. The second he heard Steve say, “I was planning on saying the same thing,” he relaxed into the chair across from Steve.

They were a couple now. They didn’t go to bars on weekends anymore, but that didn’t mean they stayed at home doing nothing (they did that more often than not). They’d walk around the city; maybe to the park, maybe to the corner store for snacks to bring back home.

 

And that’s how it was. It was the best year of his life, then the war needed him. He told Steve to keep his stupid ass _out_ of the army and _stay home_. Steve replied with, “How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you!”

Bucky walked back to give him a hug. “Fuckin’ punk.”

“Jerk.” Steve had said.

Months after, Bucky was strapped down to a cold, metal table in the middle of the lab, muttering Sergeant 3-2-5-5-7-0-3-8..bodybuilder Steven Grant Rogers saved him. Neither of them knew he’d have to do it again.


	6. May I Have This Dance?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this one's short, but that's because the next chapter is wayyyyyyy longer, and I had to cut it to have a nice transition from...well you'll know in the next chapter. Thank you for getting this far!

Bucky’s head was on his arm laying on the counter of the island and was watching Steve finish dinner. He kept making faces, which made Steve laugh but also choke on his drink. Bucky would laugh every time he could get Steve with pranks like these.

“Hey. Let’s dance.” Steve raised an eyebrow at Bucky’s statement. Steve hadn’t danced since that night (he better not have), and if he were to forget something it’d definitely be _that_. “Or..did your punk ass forget?”

“If I don’t fuck up on the first try, you owe me five.”

“It’s a deal.” Bucky said, jumping up and going to the radio. There was still classical music, like last time. Wildly, Steve remembered. _Dancing_ , of all things. Bucky was still the lead, but it was harder, since Steve’s so big now.

“‘Kay, Steve? You’re gonna have to lead. I can’t spin you as well anymore.” Steve sighed. That meant they had to re-learn the steps, so Steve could lead. It didn’t take as long as the first time, all those months ago, but still. Bucky’s given up on time, so he doesn’t know if he should be patient or not. He reminded himself that if he can go through days of actual torture, and can be patient with Steve. But he’s _always_ patient for Steve.

Sooner than later, they got it down. Bucky’s way better than spinning, even when Steve was the one to spin. And, they did it again. Somehow they got way too close when Bucky spun back towards Steve, and they kissed just like that first time, but switched. This is what Steve must’ve felt. Being dizzy, then kissing.

Then Steve does something they hadn’t done before: he picked Bucky up, like in the TV shows. They walked down the hallway, somehow not bumping into anything. When they got to the bedroom, he dropped Bucky down on his back. And thank fucking God Codsworth wasn’t in there. He was maybe in the laundry room. Bucky didn’t know nor did he care.

“Wait-” Bucky said, looking at Steve.

Between the time when they first got their apartment and when Bucky had brought his last girl over, Steve figured that he was asexual. And when he told Bucky, Bucky didn’t think it was a big deal, and so he didn’t force himself on Steve like that (or on anyone, for that matter). They had both silently agreed to respect Steve’s decision.

Sure, Bucky was excited about being intimate with Steve, especially after all those months surrounded by people, where Steve thought people would shame him for being with Bucky. Bucky doesn’t know if Steve tried his best about sneaking out, but it had worked every time. If some people suspected, they didn’t say anything about it. Steve hadn’t been with anyone. Ever. He hadn’t even kissed anyone until he was a grown adult, for God’s sake.

“What are ya doin’ Steve?” Steve just stared at him, for almost ten seconds, before answering.

“Making up for all these months.” Steve said, leaning down to continue to kiss Bucky. They moved more towards the middle of the bed at the same time, holding on to each other. Bucky kissed back. They had never kissed with this much passion as before. They did that for what seemed like hours, since they didn’t take the time to breathe. They did that at least five more times during the night. It got soft, hard, soft again (not exclusively in that order), and nothing went wrong.

Steve was right, though. He did make up for their absence of being more intimate than stolen kisses, hidden from other people. Bucky didn’t know how he knew how to do this, but he didn’t care. He was back with Steve. Steve, who was his friend since fourth grade. His roommate. And soon, his lover. For some reason, Bucky thought of them as fiancees, but that was a stretch that he didn’t like that much (maybe not for Steve, though. He can’t get into his head every _time_ ).

“Took fuckin’ long enough,” Bucky said, breathing hard.

“Well, _Sergeant Barnes_ , it’s not my fault we were pulled into war,” Steve replied, taking Bucky’s hand in his. Bucky made a small frown. He hated how hard Steve tried to get into the army, with all his disabilities. Bucky had him to stay the fuck home, but Steve’s stubborn ass didn’t listen, and managed to get there (even though he had to wear tights for the first few months before he decided he didn’t want to face for selling war bonds, touring across America).

But, Bucky was grateful for it; for Steve _not fucking listening_. Bucky had been captured, tortured, tested on, for what felt like years. Bucky had almost given up hope. He didn’t have the ability to hope for being saved anymore. But, Steve wouldn’t let that happen. When Steve had the idea of getting one of the main fuckers, who was in a train, he wanted half of Steve’s squad, including Bucky, to slide down a string without falling. Bucky had asked if it was payback for making Steve riding the Cyclone at Coney Island, in which he threw up afterwards. Steve, wearing a smile, had replied with, “Now why would I do that?”

Little did they know that Bucky would get fucked and fall off that train not even ten minutes when they landed on the roof of one of the train cars. He’s grateful and lucky that he didn’t fall into a fucking crevasse, but instead a steep hill. Even if he didn’t lose an arm, he’d still be just as grateful for Steve coming back for him. He told Steve about a million times that it wasn’t his fault. He still thinks Steve blames himself for that, even though they’re both home somewhat safely and _together_.

“Steve..I’m glad you were able to save me, _twice_. Even though I told you to stay home,”

“I said I was sorry!” Steve said, poking Bucky’s side, making both of them laugh.

“Whatever, man. At least we’re back home and together. Even though we’re not in Brooklyn anymore,”

“Well, we’ve both been moved so much that we should be used to it by now,” Steve said.

“Yeah, I know. But we left so many memories back there,”

“But we have the rest of our lives to make new ones.” Steve said, kissing Bucky hard one more time, then turned on his back, not looking at him anymore. Steve was thinking about Sarah, and probably both of them growing up with her. They had spent more time there than at Bucky’s house. Made more memories there, too. Almost as much as right now.

Bucky sat up to turn off the ceiling light and turn on the lamp on his side of the bed.

“Thank fucking God, Steve,” Bucky said.

Steve lifted his head. “What?”

Bucky pointed at the curtains. “They weren’t open. Fucking a, man. Can you imagine if they were?” “Chill out, Buck. The other neighbors can’t judge _too_ much,”

“Are you for real? You just said the opposite of what you say every time we kiss in public. Remember? ‘Some people still care about it’. These people are worse, Steve. I promise you that. They might like you, but they definitely don’t like me the times I tried to give off a good impression,”

Steve held out his hand, so Bucky would come back to the bed. Bucky sighed, and took it. Steve yanked him a little, so Bucky was halfway on top of him. “As long as we’re together, nothing bad-- worse will happen.” Bucky agreed. Looking back on it, he still believes it. Even when that bomb dropped.


	7. The End of the World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Steve enter the Vault, where a 'Mysterious Figure' comes into play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!

Somehow, the sun didn’t wake him up again. He was grateful for that. The only time he likes the sun is when he’s around Steve (he also thinks Steve _is_ the sun. He’s not completely sure). He woke up on his stomach; Steve had scratched his back before both of them fell asleep. Bucky’s been loving sleeping like there’s nothing wrong with him. Like he’s still a kid, putting mattresses on the floor when he stayed over at Steve’s house, or sharing a bed at their apartment. Not in a cold base camp tent, surrounded by hundreds of guys that didn’t have A+ hygiene. Didn’t even sleep in the same tent as Steve. He doesn’t know why he couldn’t, but that’s just how it was. So now it’s 100 times better than that horrible place.

When Bucky turned over, Steve wasn’t there. _Why would he not be here? He always waits for me to wake up._ So, with a grunt, Bucky turned back over to sit up on the bed. He yawned, rubbed his right eye, and went down the hallway to the kitchen. He waved at Codsworth before he could say anything, and sat on the couch.

“Hey, Codsworth? Do you know where Steve went?” Bucky asked, not looking at the Mr. Handy.

“Sir didn’t say, but he left this note.” Codsworth said, floating over and handing him a perfectly folded piece of lined paper.

“Thanks.” Bucky said, opening it when Codsworth floated away.

_Bucky,_

_First off, don’t worry. I’ll be back in an hour. If you read this way after I wrote this, I’ll be probably be back sooner than you think. Second, it’s a surprise, so don’t get your hopes too high, like I do. It may or may not be as big of a surprise as you think. Third, eat something. I know you get grumpy when you don’t have breakfast. I don’t want you to be grumpy. Fourth, you look so funny but pretty when you sleep._

_Love you,_

_S.R._

Bucky doesn’t know why Steve still signs his letters with his initials. It’s not like anybody would invade their privacy and read it, and judge later. Except maybe Mrs. Whitfield. But he’s almost 100 percent sure that she didn’t. Maybe she ran into Steve when he left. He could tell Bucky all about it if he did. And tell him what she thought about Steve. Or, even if she wanted an autograph. But she seemed like a person that would never want a autograph in her entire life.

So, Bucky ate. He only ate Sugar Bombs, because it was quick. He asked Codsworth if Steve told him anything.

“No, sir didn’t say anything, besides giving you that letter. And to tell you to not look out the windows.” Bucky frowned but nodded, and thanked Codsworth for cleaning his bowl and spoon. He didn’t dare try and go get more juice, so he’d been saving it for a special occasion. Maybe the special occasion in less than an hour would call for juice? Bucky decided to sit in the chair at the small dining table, closest to the backdoor, but straightforward to the front door. It stopped him from going to any of the windows. He realized that he could go into the backyard and look over the fence in the front. But Steve said not to, even if it was just with the windows.

The clock in the kitchen said it’d been almost half an hour. Steve should come through that door at any moment. As the minutes passed, Bucky’s leg started to shake. He didn’t know if he was anxious or if he needed to go to the bathroom. But he couldn’t. What if Steve came through the door while Bucky was still in the bathroom? So he stayed there. Bucky tried not to keep looking at the clock, since time seemed to slow down every time he did. The second Steve opened the door, he yelled for Bucky to stay where he was and close his eyes. So Bucky sat back down and put his hands over his eyes. He was always a peeker. He could hear Steve sit across from him, the plastic bag in his hands crinkling.

“Okay,” Steve said. Bucky removed his hands from over his eyes and opened his eyes. He was half blushing. _Oh, no_. Bucky thought. There was six small black and shiny boxes laid out in front of Steve.

“What’s this?” Bucky asked.

“Just pick two boxes, Buck,” He saw Steve looking at the back of two boxes. There must’ve been a sticker on the back that Bucky couldn’t see.

Bucky smirked at him, and pretended to not see Steve looking at the two boxes. One was in the middle, the other was on Bucky’s right. Steve tried to hold a poker face when Bucky picked the two, but failed. Steve took the other three, leaned over to the island, and put them on the counter.

“Okay, choose another one, but don’t open it,” Steve said, trying not to look at the box on Bucky’s right. Bucky rolled his eyes, but took it anyway. He didn’t open it, even though he couldn’t wait. “Okay, close your eyes again,”

“Oh my fucking God, Steve. Figure it out!” Bucky did so, like earlier. He could hear Steve shuffling around, but tried to not listen, since he guessed that Steve was trying to be sneaky. He’s never been good at it in his entire life. Not even as a super soldier. Bucky thought he’d be; that it would’ve come in the super serum or whatever.

“Alright, Buck,” Steve said. He opened eyes just like last time, but Steve wasn’t sitting across from him anymore. He was kneeling next to him. “I told you that nothing worse would happen as long as we’re together. And now we’d be..if you’d agree. Will-will you marry me, Buck?” Bucky’s mouth was open, and so was Codsworth’s (if he did, that’s what he’d be doing right now. He looked surprised, at least. Somehow).

“Jesus fucking Christ, Steve,” Bucky sat up straight like he was greeting Steve as a soldier would. “ _Steven Grant Rogers_ , I shall agree to marry you. _Sir_.” Bucky said, making Steve chuckle. He let Steve put a gold band on his left ring finger. It was relatively larger, so it would fit around the metal. Steve stood up, took Bucky’s face in his hands, and kissed him, half-hard half-soft, since Codsworth was floating right behind them. Steve sat in the chair right next to where he was kneeling. “You open that one,” Steve said, nodding to the other box in front of him. Bucky opened it. It was a silver band, almost as big as his own. He looked at it for a longer while, then put in on Steve’s finger. “Get it? ‘Cause your hand is silver, so the gold contrasts, and mine is the opposite,” Steve said.

“ _Wow_. I had no idea. Didn’t even think about that one,” Bucky said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. They kissed again, and Codsworth did a big “Hoorah!”, and they followed suit. Bucky put this moment into his ‘best memories, ever’ part of his brain; one that he’d love every time he thought about it. Almost all of them include Steve, or Steve in general. Steve was right. Nothing worse could go wrong, as long as they’re together.

***

Bucky’s looking at Steve, who’s concerned about his surroundings, more than their other neighbors. The other ones are more terrified than Bucky and Steve. Steve’s ring’s glinting in the bright light, which is a big contrast to the dust and debris that came at them in a shockwave, no longer than a minute ago.

In front of them, is a Vault 111 security officer, and the Overseer. They’re standing under a huge set of stairs, that leads through the giant gear of a...a door? Bucky thought. The lights are even brighter back there than they are where Bucky and Steve are still standing.

Bucky looks at Steve’s gold ring. Steve said that nothing worse could go wrong while they’re still together. Bucky’s still hopeful about that. Even though their country just got fucking demolished by a nuclear bomb.

He wonders about the people that they had run past to get to the Vault. First, a Vault-Tec Rep came to their door, to confirm that they’re on the list to get it in. Then the TV newsman started reporting something about sirens, and about how the world is coming to an end. He wasn’t wrong. He and Steve had to run past neighbors who weren’t even running towards the Vault. Just watching what will happen, within a matter of minutes. Their neighbors, A.P. and B.P. were stuck there. _Maybe they knew that they weren’t on the list and didn’t try to get in?_ Some of their neighbors were trying to pack bags into their cars, as if they could get far away as possible in the next three minutes.

There were Vault-Tec vans, and soldiers telling them to run up the hill, and at the gate, other neighbors were trying to get in. Even the Vault-Tec Rep was denied access, for some reason. He ran away towards the bomb, so who knows if he’s still alive? Bucky told the soldier at the gate that they were on the list to get in, and other soldiers, directed them to get onto the platform that took them down to the Vault a second after they saw the bomb drop. _God, what the fuck?_ “What the fuck, Steve?” Bucky asked. Steve just looked at him with wide-eyes, an open-mouthed frown and shook his head.

“I don’t fucking know, Buck.” The Overseer was still talking, telling them to go up the stairs, get a Vault suit, and follow a doctor for more instructions. Bucky took Steve’s hand and they went together, even though Steve was hesitant.

Bucky stopped to look at Steve, who looked almost scared to enter. “Steve. Steve look at me,” Bucky took Steve’s chin, to make Steve look at him.

“Wh-what?” Steve croaked.

“This is our new home now, so you best get used to it. Hey,” Bucky walked down a step to hug Steve. “We’ve lived in a lot of homes. This one’s just..underground. Let’s go, yeah?” Steve nodded and followed.

There was a ramp from the entrance to the other side, where more Vault security were, doctors standing around, more neighbors, and a lady handing out Vault 111 suits. Bucky took one for Steve, and grabbed his hand again. Bucky will admit it: this place was weird. It wasn’t like anything he’d ever seen. Maybe a weird ass hospital. No wonder Steve was kind of freaked out. Or maybe just the bomb dropping in front of them. Maybe both. There were other neighbors huddling together and still wondering what just happened and if other family members were still alive. Unfortunately, Bucky knows for a fact that their family members were not, but didn’t say anything. _Even Becca_. That’s what hurt him while walking past his fellow neighbors. Bucky had a whole family out there. But Steve didn’t. They only had each other now, and Bucky admits it’s still a weird concept. But it’s his new reality now.

He, Steve and a couple more neighbors found the doctor the Overseer was talking about, and followed him. The guy was saying something about how their new home is ‘safe’ and ‘you’ll be very happy here, I guarantee it’. Bucky was still a little disoriented, and the guy looked boring anyway, so didn’t bother for paying attention to him. They stopped in a room with seven pods. It was cold, and dry ice-type smoke was coming out of small vents behind each pod. The other five neighbors had already put their Vault suits on, so Bucky did, and helped Steve put his on. It’s official: he’s the only one in this place that’s completely disoriented and confused. Not even the neighbors can compare.

The doctor was standing at the end of the room now, telling everyone to step into the pods, and started to get more impatient when people weren’t listening, but he somehow kept his temper. Bucky kissed Steve, and told him it was going to be okay and that they’ll see each other soon. Steve nodded, kissed him back, and got into a pod across from Bucky’s so they could see each other. He saw the doctor give them a _look_.

When they got in the decontamination pod, the lid above him closed, and the doctor stepped up and talked to everyone, but looked directly at Bucky.

“The pod will decontaminate and depressurize you before we head deeper into the Vault. Just relax.” Bucky gave him a look, but knew that the guy couldn’t hear Bucky, so he saved his breath. The doctor walked away towards the door they came in.

“Time for a whole new life.” Bucky said.

“ _Residents secure. Occupant vitals: Normal. Procedure complete. Activating pods in...5...4….3….2….1…._ ” The Vault computer said, and Bucky’s pod started to freeze. The last thing he saw was Steve looking at him with his hand up on the glass. Then ice.

***

_“Manual override initiated. Cryogenic stasis suspended.”_ The ice around Bucky started to melt, and he saw some lady in a white hazmat suit pointing at Steve. “This one’s the one. Open the pod.”

Some bald guy with weird armor told her to open it.

Steve’s pod opened, and he started coughing. “Is it over? Are we okay?”

The Mysterious Figure guy with the bald head spoke to Steve in a gravelly voice. “Almost. Everything’s going to be fine.”

“What?” Two other bigger people in hazmat suits came over to pull Steve out of his pod unwillingly. “Hey! GET OFF ME!” Steve said, knocking out one guy, pushing away the other, telling the lady to back off.

Bucky pounded on his pod’s small window. “HEY! LET HIM GO!”

The bald guy took out his gun and shot Steve in his leg, causing him to fall down. “NO! NO!” The two guys got back up and started to drag him away. Steve was using his arms and his other leg to try and get them off, but it didn’t work. He looked at Bucky’s pod while he was being dragged away. “BUCKY! NO!”

Bucky was pounding his pod with both of his hands. “STEVE!” He tried to look out of the window, but it was too small and flat, so Steve was out of sight within seconds. The bald guy walked up to Bucky’s window. He had a big scar on the left side of his face, from his forehead, over his eye, and down to his nostril. He tapped the window with the barrel of his gun.

“Well, at least we still have the backup. Let’s get the fuck out of here.” He walked away, with his gun still in his hand. Ready to shoot Steve at any second.

“ _Cryogenic sequence reinitialized._ ” He saw Steve’s pod close. With no one inside. Bucky’s heart felt as cold as the ice that reformed around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: captainsmeesh  
> come see what the fuck is up


	8. A Whole New World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky reunites with an old friend, and is going to make a bunch of new friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS is the long chapter I promised from earlier. It's kind of a cluster-fuck with all the details, so please forgive that.

The white of the pod started to go away, and this time Bucky was determined to get out, no matter what. Somehow, when he hit the window of his pod, it opened, making him fall to the ground. While he coughing and panting, he looked around. The Vault he knew from how much time ago was wet, like there was a thunderstorm over their pods. Some water was still dripping, making it even more creepy than before.

A glint of gold caught his eye. Steve’s ring. _Steve_. “Oh my fucking God,” Bucky said, grabbing Steve’s ring. When he stood up again, he fell onto Steve’s closed and empty pod. It was cold and wet. He walked to the next pod to lean on it until he wasn’t dizzy anymore.

When he looked in, he made a half-gasp, half-scream. One of his neighbors was frozen and slumped over, still frozen. Bucky knocked on it lightly. “Hey! Are you alive?!” Once he realized the guy was dead, and rushed backwards, landing on the other pod across the room. It was Mrs. Whitfield, with her hair still pristine. She was leaning back, just like Steve was doing before his pod opened.

Bucky knocked on her pod. He knew she could hear him, but he realized she was dead. Bucky managed to walk between the pods instead of leaning on them. While he walked down to the door of the room, he saw the rest of his neighbors in the same condition. “Why would they do this shit?” Bucky said, almost tripping on the stairs. The hallway in front of him, where they first came in, had flickering lights. He went down to the sliding door, but it wouldn’t budge, so he had to go back to the other hallway.

It was even darker than the previous rooms he’d been through. Through the dirty window, he could see a bigger room with frozen pods, and tables in between. He opened the door and went in. On his right was a couple of bunk beds and a terminal on a desk in the corner. He went and looked. He got a sick stomach after reading it.

The Vault workers; security, doctors, janitors, and the Overseer were waiting to get the go-to from the Vault-Tec HQ, to start the testing of Bucky, Steve, and the dead residents all over this place. As weeks went by, most of the people grouped together for rations, but the Overseer took most of them, and locked himself away in his office. These people died down here just like the other residents did. The next room over was the recreation room with another terminal. The place had a long table with benches, and a corner counter and cabinets. The place was trashed; no food, dishes were strewn all over the place, and so was trash. Bucky went to the terminal. The Overseer had given schedules for people who wanted to play the game in the computer: _Red Menace_. Bucky remembers that game. Steve was better at it than him. Bucky’s heart sank every time he thought of Steve, so cleared his mind and moved on. Behind the next door he opened was a group of giant roaches that jumped up on him. He ran past them through the room, dodging the arcs of electricity coming out of a huge generator. They didn’t follow, but more were at the end of the hallway in front of him. He had no idea _what the fuck_ these things were, but had to get through them. There was another door and more of the big roaches behind it.

He found the Overseer’s office. It was big, with a semi-circle table in the middle with a terminal on it. Next to it was a 10mm pistol and a handful of ammo with it. The Overseer’s skeleton was on it’s back. _Must’ve killed himself._ On the terminal was his side of the story of the mini war about rationing food and water, and how he couldn’t hold the others off forever.

There was a small gated closet with a big gun in a locked window, like a fire extinguisher. He couldn’t pick the lock, so he moved on, opening the next door. He finally made it back to the beginning. There still boxes of Vault suits on the other side of the room. But, in front of him was the grand prize: the giant Vault door that looked like a gear. He walked up to the button to open it. In front of it was the skeleton of a doctor, and he was wearing some kind of giant wristwatch. On the back of it was a string-type thing to put into the console next to the button to open the door.

The Vault computer said something like ‘initializing door opening’. He couldn’t hear over it, and he was watching the smoke that came out from under the door. When the whole gear was rolled over, the ramp to stairs came towards him and he ran to the other side, to take the platform back up to his home. Where Steve would be waiting for him, hopefully.

When the platform got close to the top, the ground split, so the platform could get all the way to the top. He covered the sun with his left arm, where the Pip-Boy was attached onto his metal arm.

His surroundings baffled him. “What the _fuck_.” Where the green trees were, they were replaced with brown dull, lifeless trees, as far as the eye can see. So was the grass. Behind him was the small pod the security officer used the button to send them down. There were too many skeletons for his taste (he knew that there would be _at least_ five times more than this the more he traveled further downtown).

At the bottom of the hill, he can see the small creek that he and Steve walked in. And Bucky fell and got his pants wet. Farther than that, was Sanctuary Hills. Not the neighborhood he knew. All the houses were messed up, the outside was messed up; half of the whole stripped away. Others were completely ruined; they had collapsed into themselves.

Bucky decided to jump down on the rocks of the hill and get down that way. The suitcase that the neighbors were arguing about was still there by the tiny bridge. When he got back to the street, there was a shiny object in his eyes. It was Codsworth.

“Holy shit! Codsworth!” Bucky yelled, running over to him.

“It’s..it’s really YOU!”

“What-” Bucky looked around and put his arms out. “What happened to the world?”

“The world, sir? Well, besides our geraniums still being the envy of Sanctuary Hills, I’m afraid things have been dreadfully dull around here,” Codsworth was always good about making Bucky chuckle, at least. “Things will be much more exciting when you and sir come back! Where is your better half, by the by?”

Bucky frowned. “He’s been kidnapped. But I’m going to get him back. I have to,”

“Sir..these things you’re saying. These...terrible things...I..I believe you need a distraction. Yes! A distraction! To calm this dire mood,” Codsworth said. “It’s been ages since we last had a proper family activity. Do you know where sir went?”

Bucky tried not to yell. “He’s gone, goddammit! Someone took him!”

“Hmm. It’s worse than I thought. Mm-mm. You’re suffering from hunger-induced paranoia. Not eating properly for 200 years will do that, I’m afraid,”

Bucky gaped. “Doesn’t matter how long, I feel fucking fine,”

“A bit over 210 years, sir. Give or take for the Earth’s rotation and some minor dings to the ol’ chronometer,” Codsworth said. Bucky was still confused. “That means you’re two centuries late for dinner!” he laughed. Bucky didn’t. “Perhaps I can whip you up a snack? You must be famished,”

Bucky squinted at Codsworth for a second. “Codsworth, you’re acting...a little bit weird. What’s wrong?”

Codsworth held his composure. “I..I..” he lost it. Immediately. He’d be crying if he weren’t a robot. “Oh sir, it’s just been horrible! Two centuries with no one to talk to, no one to serve! I spent the first ten years trying to keep the floors waxed, but nothing can get out nuclear fallout from vinyl wood. Nothing! And don’t get me started about the futility of dusting a collapsed house. And the car!” Bucky raised an eyebrow. They didn’t have a car. He must’ve been cleaning someone else’s. Gave him something more to do, at least. “The car! How do you polish rust?”

Bucky put his hands up. “Stay with me, pal. Focus,”

“I’m afraid I don’t know anything, sir. The bombs came and all of you left in such a hurry. I thought for certain that you and Steve were...dead,” Codsworth said. Then cleared his voice box and regained his composure. “I did find this holotape. I believe sir was going to present it to you. As a surprise. But then, well...everything ‘happened’,” Codsworth twisted his arms to give Bucky the holotape. Bucky looked at it; turned it around in his hands. It said “Hi, Honey!” on the side.

“Thank you, Codsworth,”

Codsworth pretended to sniff. “You’re welcome,” Codsworth said, then got back on track from before. “Now. Stop feeling sorry for myself. Shall we search the neighborhood? Sir may turn up yet,”

“Have you seen anything dangerous?” Bucky could sense it the second that platform stopped moving and brought him into this new world.

“Oh, just the usual, sir. Pesky neighborhood dogs and mosquitoes. Shall I investigate?” Bucky looked around. “All right. Lead the way.” Bucky put his hand out, gesturing for Codsworth to turn and go up the street.

“Proud to serve, sir!” He twisted around and was humming as he floated forward towards the other houses that weren’t collapsed. Bucky cocked his pistol and followed him. They went to their old neighbor’s house. Everything was dirty and scuffled around. They _did_ leave in a hurry like everyone else. On the street was fallen over mailboxes, lampposts, and big parts of trees. The yellow grass managed to weed itself through the cracks of the pavement.

When he caught up with Codsworth, he using his flamethrower. “Nothing like a little dust to get the oil flowing, eh?” He said, floating past Bucky without a care in the world.

“Codsworth, wait. You have a fucking _flamethrower_ on you?”

“Yes, sir! Always have, always will.”

“What the fuck?” Bucky said under his breath, still looking around. This new world he was forced into was nothing like he ever imagined.

He thought the war would end peacefully, and him and Steve could spend the rest of their lives together. But now...but now he’s in this new world, where danger could be anywhere, and so can skeletons and pre-war relics, (like himself, maybe?) and. And Steve. If anything, if they couldn’t live in that Vault together, they’d manage to live in the wastes together. To protect each other, just like before, and be together just like before. But Steve’s gone, and there’s nothing Bucky can do about it yet. All Bucky can hope for is that Steve’s alive. He knows that Steve isn’t safe. No one alive out here is.

“My sensors are picking up movement in another house. Follow me!”

They go down to a blue house at the end of the cul-de-sac, that still has Halloween decorations on the front. There was a giant fly, squirting out green slime, that looked like the liquid embodiment of complete radiation. Codsworth cut one down with his saw, and two others came out. Bucky only watched. It’s crazy how Codsworth is able to do this with ease. He’d been pushed into war just like Bucky and Steve had, but was on his own for 210 years. _210 FUCKING years. Steve better be the fuck alive_.

Bucky still has his own ring on his metal finger, and put Steve’s on his other hand, but on his pointer finger. Steve’s fingers aren’t _that_ big. _I’m going to find your fucking ass, Steve. I swear it. No matter what. I don’t fucking care if I have to walk through hell._ When Bucky hear the final squish of the fly, he walked in and looked around. There was a barricade in the front of the room. It was made up from the kitchen table, the chairs from the living room, the refrigerator, cinder blocks, some pieces of fence, metal barrels. Even the guy’s own sink was on the pile. There was a chair behind it, as if the guy was waiting for something. Even part of the windows behind him were blocked.

Codsworth looked out the window that wasn’t blocked. “Sir. Your family isn’t here either. He’s...he’s really gone, isn’t he?” Bucky nodded and continued to look around the house. The master bedroom’s lampshade was missing, and so was the mattress. The bed stand was uneven and half destroyed. The windows behind it was blasted out. Across from it was the bathroom, and a tiny room that was made into a nursery.

Codsworth approached him when he came back to the main room. “Sir, he’s..he’s not here,”

“He’s out there, Codsworth. I need to find him,”

“What about Concord, sir? Plenty of people there. And last I checked, they only pummeled me with sticks a few times before I had to run back home,”

“What? There’s still people alive in Concord?” _Of course there would be, dumbass_. Bucky had only a little hope that Steve would be there. But Bucky knows that he’d be farther and farther away from Sanctuary Hills. _Oh, the things I do for love_. Steve would do the exact thing Bucky is now. In fact, he already has. Twice. It’s Bucky’s turn to return the favor. And in this new world, saving him once would equal Steve saving Bucky twice.

“Yes, although they’re a bit rough. You remember the way? Just across the southern foodbridge out of the neighborhood and past the Red Rocket station,” Bucky nodded his head. “I shall remain here, and secure the home-front!” Bucky nodded and ran around the back to the bridge. There were blown-out cars close the bridge, with nothing in them. Half of the bridge was collapsed, the car on top of it had dropped into the water below. On the other side was a dead person and a red, sick-looking dog with a tire iron in it’s gut. Bucky looted his corpse. There was ammo, a pipe pistol, and three Stimpaks. He continued walking past more cars, some even stripped down to it’s base.

He saw a dog when he got to Red Rocket. It was a German Shepherd. “How the fuck are you even alive?” He pet the dog. “What are you doing out here all by yourself?” He playfully barked at Bucky. “Come with me, yeah?” He pet the dog, and the dog licked his hand. “Okay, then. Let’s stick together.”

The garage door was open. There was a Power Armor repair station, a armor and weapon workbench, a table with junk on it and a tall red toolbox. Bucky never got to wear power armor. He was envious of the guys who got to, but although they were more safe than all the other guys, it tired them out by the afternoon. Even Steve didn’t want to, even though he’d be the one guy to not be tired in the same day. He had his shield, anyway. _I should go back and get that fucking stupid frisbee, just in case. Maybe they took it when they took Steve? But Codsworth would’ve seen them if they did that_. He was pulled out of his thoughts by the dog barking at him. Then, a giant combination of a mole and rat came out of the ground and jumped at Bucky. He killed the first one with the butt of his gun, the dog took out one, then Bucky shot and killed the other three. He looked at his new companion, as if he could respond. “What the fuck were those things?” The dog just looked at him, panting, but wearing a smile. “You’re great, y’know that?”

He went around to the front of the truck stop, where there was a cash register, a magazine rack, with cabinets and filing cabinets. On the counter was a newspaper from 210 years ago, and two posters: one for a Giddyup Buttercup, and the other for Sugar Bombs. The dog followed him, and sniffed around. He went outside. There was a Nuka-Cola machine, and a milk machine and a cigarette machine. Across from it was a half-intact truck, with piles of tires.

He walked back to the main road to Concord, and huge mosquitoes that were feeding on a two-headed cow came and attacked Bucky and dog. They were too high for the dog to reach, but he still tried his hardest, like a good dog would. Down into town was more buildings, including boarded up houses. When he saw the barricades that were along the street, he heard shouting and gunshots.

There were more guys that looked like the one by the bridge, but they were shooting at some guy on the balcony of the Museum of Freedom. With a...a laser musket? When the fighting was over, the guy, who looked sort of like a cowboy, yelled down at him. “Hey! Up here! On the balcony! I’ve got a group of settlers inside! The Raiders are almost through the door! Grab that Laser Musket and help us! Please!” Bucky nodded, and the guy went back inside. But first, he looted the Raiders. They had more ammo, guns, clothes, armor, and medicine; mostly Stimpaks. The Laser Musket was right next to a dead cowboy guy and a Raider. It was right in front of the door, so Bucky took it before going inside.

Inside, the roof was mostly destroyed, and so was much of the second floor. The flags on the banister were ripped. The paint on the Museum of Freedom mural was chipped away. On the upper floor above the mural was more Raiders behind barricades. Bucky cranked the gun three times, and killed one Raider, but the other one ran before he could get him. The thing sucked, so he switched back to the pistol from before and walked further into the building, his senses on high alert for the Raider that got away.

He had to go into a door on his right, and the lights turned on as he walked in. In the next room was fallen mannequins, some naked, the others with red coats to show the British fighting versus the Americans. “ _Back to England with you!_ ”

The next room had half of a wrecked ship, the sails were cut. There were boxes and barrels with the word “TEA” on the sides. “ _Have your tea back, you jackanapes! No taxation without representation!_ ” The next room had lanterns and more mannequins of British soldiers. “ _Remember, lads. Two if by sea._ ” The Raider from before was hiding behind a wrecked display. Bucky killed him before he could even fire a shot. “ _Come on, Dawes! We ride to Lexington to warn Hancock and Adams._ ”

The next room was half-destroyed stairs, with a locked gate and terminal hidden under it. “ _Awake, men of Middlesex! The King’s regulars are coming out!_ ” He went down the rubble hill and the bottom of the stairs and managed to pick open the door. There was a huge yellow generator, with a fusion core in it. He took it, and continued up the stairs. On a table was a blue cooler, a empty Nuka-Cola bottle, a switchblade and a human skull. “What the _fuck_?”

The hallway led back to the bridge where the first Raiders were. There was nothing of importance on the other side, so he retraced his steps to a semi-circle of a room that had Raiders in it. The mural on the wall depicted a war on both sides, but more modern. One side had soldiers in Power Armor. The rest of the room still looked like it was in construction. Bucky sneaked up and heard a Raider speaking to another. “I’m telling you, man. Let’s just get the hell out of here. We got no reason to hang around and get shot.”

“You’re right,” Bucky jumped out, shooting the two. “No reason at all.” He went through the next hallway, which led to a set of stairs. At the top were two vending machines. He could hear a Raider on the other side of the wall, so he peeked through a hole in the wall. “I’m coming in there, and I’m going to skin every last one of you.” There were two Raiders, and they spotted him, leaving him no choice but to shoot them.

He could hear the guy dressed as a cowboy. “Come on!” Bucky looted his surroundings.

“Yeah, yeah! I’m coming!” The guy was at the other end of the hallway, gesturing for Bucky to run in and close the door behind him.

“Let’s go!” _Oh my_ fucking _God. Is this guy serious?_

In the room there was a guy wearing overalls and goggles around his neck messing with a terminal, an old lady dressed as a gypsy, a guy rocking and muttering to himself on the floor, and a woman next to him, who was possibly his sister.

“Man, I don’t know who you are, but your timing is impeccable. Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen,” he said. His Laser Musket was about three times the size of the one Bucky picked up, and it looked way more powerful.

Bucky gave him a confused look. “Glad to...help,”

“Well, if that’s true, we could use some more good will. As you can see, we’re in a bit of a mess here,”

“Yeah, I can see that,”

“Maybe…? Nope!” The guy at the terminal said.

Bucky looked at _him_ weird, too. “ _Anyway_ , please, go on,” The lady who was consoling her brother on the floor was now walking back and forth. Bucky frowned at that, but kept listening to Preston.

“A month ago, there were 20 of us. Yesterday, there were 8. Now...we’re 5. First it was the Ghouls in Lexington. Now _this_ mess,”

“Ghouls? The hell are Ghouls?”

“Wow, you really _aren’t_ from around here, are you?” Bucky shook his head a little, looking between Preston and the woman walking back and forth. Preston saw this. “Hey, Marcy? Can you stop walking back and forth, please?”

“How about, fuck off?” She said.

“That’s not very fuckin’ nice, lady,” Bucky said. Preston put his hand up to silence both of them. She gave Bucky the stink eye, and resumed walking back and forth again. He huffed, but let Preston continue.

“ _Anyway_ , Ghouls are...irradiated people. Most are just like you and me. They look pretty messed up, and live a long time, but they’re still just...people. The ones I’m talking about are different. The radiation’s rotted their brains. Made them feral. They’ll rip you apart, just as soon they look at you. Anyway, we figured Concord would be a safe to settle. Those Raiders proved us wrong. But...well, we do have one idea,”

“Damn, man. Sorry. Let’s hear it,” Preston nodded to the guy working the terminal.

“Sturges? Tell him,”

He turned around to face him. He had a bit of a Southern accent, so Bucky raised an eyebrow when he first heard him speak. “There’s crashed Vertibird up on the roof. Old school. Pre-war. You might’ve seen it,” Bucky shrugged. “Well, looks like one of it’s passengers left behind a seriously sweet goody. We’re talking a full suit of cherry T-45 Power Armor. Military issue,”

“Oh, _fuck_. I always envied the guys who got to wear them, but they seemed to not like it sometimes,” Sturges and Preston gave him a confused look. Bucky sighed. “What makes the Power Armor so special?”

“A West Tek internalized servo-system, that’s what. Inside that baby, super is the new normal. You’ll be stronger, tougher, resistant to rads. And...when you get the suit, you can rip that minigun right off the Vertibird. You do that, and those Raiders get an express ticket to hell, you dig?”

“Minigun? Now we’re talkin’,”

“I know right?! Only there’s one hitch. The suit’s out of juice. Probably been dry for a hundred years. It can be powered up again, but we’re a bit stuck…”

“The solution?”

This time, Preston cut in. “What you’ll need is an old pre-war F.C., a standardized Fusion Core. Your high-grade, long-term nuclear battery. Used by the military and some companies, way back when. And we know right where to find one-”

“But we can’t get to the damn thing,” Sturges said, leaning against the desk with the terminal on it. “It’s down in the basement, locked behind a security gate. Look...I fix stuff. I thinker. Bypassing security ain’t exactly my forte. You could give it a shot,”

“Already have, guy.”

“Well, go outside to the roof and put it in! We’ll be right here.” Bucky nodded, and went to leave. When he passed by the old lady, she grabbed his hand. “Careful, kid. There’s something comin’. And it is...angry.”

“What?” She shook her head and told him to go. So he did. There was a bobblehead on the table, and he took it.

Outside, part of a room was messed up; there was rubble under the Vertibird, and messed up pictures. The Power Armor was standing there, waiting. Bucky slammed the Fusion Core in, turned the handle, which opened it. He had to actually step up to get in. When he did, the back closed behind him. It was way heavier than it looked. It wasn’t comfy whatsoever, but it wasn’t like there was needles in the inside of the thing, at least. He picked up the mingun that was eerily lighter than it would’ve been without him wearing Power Armor. Like he was holding a teddy bear, but shooting 5mm rounds at people.

He walked through the bird, to see a Raider on the roof across the street from him. He could hear Preston on the balcony; “Look sharp.” He killed the guy, and leaped off the roof, making a huge thud when he landed. There were far more many Raiders than he first got to the Museum, but they were like bugs against his weapon. He walked down the street, killing them one by one.

Then, the grate of a sewer flew up and open. It was like nothing he’d ever seen. It was ten feet tall, with reptile-like skin with horns. The twelve-inch-long talons of the thing is what made Bucky almost pass out. “ _UH, PRESTON?! WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING?!_ ”

Before he could answer, the Raiders that were still alive yelled, “ _DEATHCLAW!_ ”. It killed them almost instantly.

Then it saw Bucky. And _charged_. He had started shooting at the second it killed the rest of the Raiders. It roared, making the smallest of shockwaves. The only thing he knew could do that was a nuclear bomb. It managed to dodge bursts of bullets, but Bucky kept going. Then the thing scratched up some dirt and threw it at Bucky. Then it picked Bucky up above it’s head, roared, and threw Bucky on the ground, almost making him pass out. But, with Preston’s small amount of help, the _Deathclaw_ fell to the ground at Bucky’s feet. He actually felt like pictures that make soldiers in Power Armor look like gods, saving the world.

Then a bullet ricocheted off his helmet. There were still Raiders around, that hid to stay alive. Too dumb to run away. It was relatively easy, but it’d be easier if they _stayed the fuck still_. He went back to the Museum. Preston’s people were now all downstairs in the front, waiting for him. The two siblings were sitting on the floor, Sturges leaning against a wall, and Preston was talking to the old gypsy lady. She was right. A big terrible fuckin’ thing came at him.

“I’m fine, Preston. Quit fussin’,” she said.

They all sat up when he came back inside. “That was...a pretty amazing display. I’m just glad you’re on our side,”

“You guys going to be okay now?”

“Yeah. For a while, anyway. We can at least move someplace safer,” Preston put his musket on his side. “Listen, when we first met, you said you were glad to help? Well you did. And we owe you our lives. So here. It isn’t much, but it’s the best way I can say thank you,” he gave Bucky 50 Fusion Cells and 100 bottle caps.

“Why so many bottle caps?” Bucky asked.

“Do you seriously not know about this? It’s a form of currency. Back then, cash was money. Now, it’s bottle caps. Dunno why. Just been like that,”

“Thank you, Preston. What happens now?” Preston looked at the old lady, then to Bucky.

“For the longest time, Mama Murphy’s had a vision of a place called ‘Sanctuary’. Some old neighborhood...but one we can make new again. Why don’t you come with us? I could really use your help,”

“Alright, Garvey. I’m in,”

The old lady, Mama Murphy chimed in. “Oh, that’s wonderful. But there’s more to your destiny, isn’t there? I’ve seen it. And I know your pain,” Bucky was shocked, but frowned anyway.

“My ‘destiny’? What do you mean?”

“You’re a man out of time. Out of hope. But all’s not lost. I can feel...your fiance's energy. He’s alive,”

“Are you fucking serious?! Oh my God. Keep going. _Please_ ,”

“Look, kid, I know how I sound. The Sight, it’s weird. And it ain’t always clear. But...they’re out there. And even I don’t need the Sight to tell you where you should start Lookin’. The great, green jewel of the Commonwealth. Diamond City. The biggest settlement around,”

“Diamond City? Is Steve there?” None of them gave him a look of homophobia. They looked a little sad, though.

“Look, kid. I’m tired now. Maybe you bring me some chems later, the Sight will paint a clearer picture,”

“No!” Preston cut in. “Mama Murphy, we talked about this. That-that _junk_. It’s gonna kill you,”

“Oh shush, Preston. We’re all gonna die eventually. We’re gonna need the Sight. And our new friend here, he’s gonna need it too. Now let’s get goin’. Sanctuary awaits.”

Preston picked up his gun and walked to the door. “Alright folks. Thanks to our friend here, it’s safe to move out. We’re heading for that place Mama Murphy knows about: Sanctuary. It’s not far,”

“She knows about it? You mean she had one of her fucking ‘visions’ while she was stoned out of her gourd?!” Marcy said. “And now you want us to just head out on another wild fuckin’ goosechase based on no better plan ‘ _Mama Murphy saw it_ ’?”

Her and Preston were about to begin an argument, but Sturges cut in. “Hold on. Hold on! Everybody just take it easy. We’re all in this together, right? So, Marcy. You got a better idea of what we should do next?” She didn’t answer. “ _Anybody?_ ” No answer. Not even a look from her. “Well, then. Sanctuary it is. Let’s just hope it lives up to it’s name.” _Oh, it does. I promise_.

They all walked in single-file for some reason, and Bucky followed in the back just in case anything else wants to give him a heart attack. A lot has happened within the first few hours of being out of the Vault. _Or_ , even out of his pod. _Fucking Steve_. The last time he saw Steve, he was being dragged out of the Vault, yelling for Bucky to help him, but he couldn’t. That pod kept him locked up for God who knows longer. Codsworth said they’d been away for 210 years. Could that have been their first year in the Vault, or Bucky’s last year? If it was the former, Steve would be dead. Steve would be dead and he wouldn’t have been able to save him. Bucky would be living in a world that was almost meaningless to him. The thought made him fall to his knees. Still in the Power Armor, he made a loud THUD, and everyone looked back at him.

He was gasping for air. He even took off the helmet and threw it to the side. It felt like his suit was squishing him, not letting him breathe. All of the others turned around to look at him. Preston, who was in the middle of pointing at the statue of an original Minuteman right before the bridge -- “Well I’ll be damned. It’s the monument to the original Minutemen. I knew that was somewhere near Concord,” -- gasped and ran towards him.

Bucky’s nose was blocked, since he was on the verge of tears.

“What’s wrong, man?!” Bucky didn’t answer, just kept looking at the ground and gasping for air. “Is it about, uh, uh, that guy? What was his name again?”

“S-sss-Steve.” Was all Bucky could say. He couldn’t move his legs or arms or neck. He was stuck looking at a crack in the pavement trying to get as much oxygen back into him as fast as possible. He thought he saw Preston turn around to face Mama Murphy, or Sturges for help.

Sturges came over to help, too. “Hey, man. You know what Mama Murphy said?” He knelt next down on Bucky’s left, since Preston was on his right. “You remember, right?” Bucky tried to shake his head as much as possible. He didn’t think anyone saw it, so he squeaked out a quiet “ _no_.”

“Well,” Preston said, holding Bucky’s shoulder so he wouldn’t fall down, “she said that he’s alive. Isn’t that right, guys?”

Bucky heard them agree by the small _mm-hmm_ ’s they produced. “Yeah! His energy is still here. In the Commonwealth, at least, right?” Sturges said.

“Yes, that’s right.” Mama Murphy said.

“Hey, you guys go on ahead,” Preston said, gesturing to the other three.

“No!” Bucky squeaked.

“Never mind then.” Preston said, giving Bucky a confused look, even though Bucky couldn’t see it. They stayed there until Bucky’s shallow breathing eventually went to deep breathing, then normal as you can get after a fit like that. They all moved on together, Preston and Sturges helping him along.

Codsworth was floating about when they all arrived. When he spotted them, he came over as fast as possible. “What happened to sir? And who, may I ask, are you?!” Marcy aimed at Codsworth when got close. Preston put down the barrel of her gun with his hand, and gave her a cold look.

“Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen.”

“Ooo, the Minutemen!” Codsworth said. He pretended to clear his throat. “What happened to sir?”

“He had a panic attack,” Sturges said. “About some guy named Steve?”

“Ooo, I do love Steve!”

“ _Codsworth!_ ” Bucky squeaked.

“Right! Follow me!” The two half-carried Bucky to the Power Armor station to get him out of it, then his old home, while the others looked around. The bed was still mostly intact, good enough to sleep in. The second he saw Steve’s pillow and the somehow perfectly preserved picture of them, he lost it, and finally started to cry. “ _Fucking Steve…_ ” Bucky whispered to himself. They lightly put Bucky down on his back, and almost passed out, tears still in his eyes. Steve’s shield was in the corner of the room, and Bucky yelled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: captainsmeesh  
> come see what the fuck is up


	9. The General

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky goes to help a settlement. With Dogmeat. Kind of a bad idea, huh Buck?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for continuing to read this pile of crap

Bucky was in that horrible, horrible dream, from over 210 years ago. They were tearing at the top his shoulder, where the skin and metal were molded together, like peeling off a cuticle. But it was done with a butcher’s knife, slowly and intimately. His right arm was tied down to the table like the other one, but they weren’t sawing it off. They were poking it with screwdrivers of every kind, small forks, and tiny blades. They tried to do the one-million cuts until he died, but he wouldn’t budge.

He went fucking crazy when Steve appeared. By then, half of his left arm was still attached like a thread, and the other had huge cuts, making it feel like it was attached on only one thread like the other. So he couldn’t use his wrists to get out of the cuffs. He couldn’t move his legs, either. He felt like a doll, that was almost completely torn apart. He looked back at Steve. He was big, like normal. He was safe; no cuts, no lost limbs, no lost teeth, no bruises or any damage of any sort (at least that he could see). His arms were crossed against his chest. He did have a permanent frown and his eyes were almost too dark and misty. He was wearing a black and dark red suit, like his usual stealth suit, and a weird dark red insignia high on his bicep.

The people had stopped what they were doing when he walked in. The light from the hallway poured in, making it feel like the whole sun was right outside that door. Like the real Steve was there, outside, and in here was a dark, hollow Steve. “Stop.” Steve said. His voice was dark and hollow too.

“Steve-”

“Quiet, _Bucky_ ,” Steve walked towards the table, and the other two got out of his way and went to the door, but didn’t leave. “Tsk, tsk. What have they do to you?” He asked, feigning innocence, feigning love. “Sucks that I was taken out of the Vault. To leave. Forever. You just didn’t know that,” Steve poked a deep cut in Bucky’s right arm, and covered his mouth when he screamed out of pain.

Steve stood behind his head, looking down at him. Making Bucky look at this horrible person. That he wished he had never met. Even though it was a version of Steve, that was alive, he hated him. “Now, now. I can see in your head that you want to know where your ‘ _precious, innocent, loving_ ’ Steve went,” Steve said, moving around him and pulling up a chair to the table. “And I get that. I do. It’s just that…” Steve crossed his arms on the table and put his head on them, right next to Bucky. “He’s gone. Was the second he got pulled out of that pod. The second you were out of sight. Out of _mind_. Y’know,” he said, poking the metal of Bucky’s arm and watching it wiggle a tiny bit.

“This ‘ _Steve_ ’...not a person, sorry to say. A _weapon_. The second he went to went to war, and again after that Vault. Did you know, that each Vault ran an experiment? One fucking cloned this guy named Gary and now there’s like 50 of them and if they see you you’re dead. I thought that was pretty funny. What do you think?” Steve said, covering Bucky’s mouth again. “Never mind. I don’t care. Not about you or Codsworth or mom or America. Did I say you? I think I did. If I didn’t, I wanna let you know that you’ve never been my favorite. More of a...problem. Trying to save you all the time? That shit was _tiring_. I thought I only had to do it once, when you were on this table,” He said, knocking on the cold metal. “Then I had to look for you for a fuckin’ _hour_ , in the snow. But you’re my weapon. And I’m yours. But not anymore. You’ll be dead before you can find me. And I’m going to be the one to do it. Oops! Shouldn’t have said _that_ one, huh?

“Not even that stupid shield can save you. Don’t need that. Shields are for losers, anyway. I agree that shields shouldn’t look like a fuckin’ frisbee, but whatever. Worked well against bad guys. Wonder how well you’d do with it?”

Bucky was so furious by now, his forehead was red and he started to get a headache. Steve put his head on the palm of his hand, and poked Bucky in the side with the other. Instead of feeling funny, it was like being stabbed. “And your Minutemen? Gone. Every and any settlement you make friends with will be gone. Even if it’s a whole city. Like the ‘great green jewel of the Commonwealth’. Diamond City is already a problem, and once you’re there, it’ll _all_ be over,” Steve flicked Bucky on his forehead and smiled. “You’re _strong_ , but how much?”

“I’m gonna kick your fucking ass, Steve,”

“No, you won’t. You and your people will be dead before you can do anything about it. And no one will believe you about this. Not even Mama-fucking-Murphy. But-” Steve said, touching Bucky’s chin, making him to look at the dark, horrible version on Steve. “If you wanna fight in the middle of the street with everyone watching, then fine. But, you better know this: when I come for you, you’ll have no chance.

“Someone once said something like this, and I think it’s one of my favorites: I’m going to kill you, Buck. Slowly, intimately, in every way I know you fear. And when you scream…” Steve touched the side of Bucky’s face with the back of his hand. Then looked Bucky straight in the eye. He had a face only the devil could wear. “And when you scream...I’ll split your skull.”

Steve got up and touched Bucky’s ankle on the way to the door. He whispered something to one of his torturers. When that door closed, they made him die even slower than before.

***

Bucky didn’t wake up screaming, but due to the sweat on and around him. Steve’s _fucking_ shield was glaring the sun into Bucky’s eyes. He can’t think about Steve anymore, as much as he wants to. Even it’s about the dark Steve from earlier.

He then remembered about this new Commonwealth he’s been thrown into. Everything’s demolished; at least nowhere as close as the Old World. The only ties he had to it before was Codsworth, Steve, and their home. But there is no more Steve. Not anymore. The only thing Bucky’s glad about is that at least he’s alive. Even if his one goal is to find Bucky and kill him. Maybe even in the middle of this ‘Diamond City’ everyone keeps talking about. Would he really kill Bucky in front of twenty or more people? He doesn’t know how big that place is, but he can’t let that happen there.

The dog from yesterday barked from outside, and came into the bedroom, followed by Codsworth and Preston. Bucky had unzipped the top if his Vault suit, and was sitting on the edge of the bed. Preston tried to hide a look, but Bucky still caught it. He didn’t say anything about it.

“Sir, are you all right?” Codsworth asked.

“What? Oh. Yeah, yeah, Codsworth. Just didn’t have a good dream. And no, I don’t want to talk about it,” _maybe not yet_. “Codsworth, I need you to wash this thing. There’s no other clothes to wear,”

“Yes, sir!”

Preston walked further into the room; he had been standing in the doorway. He tossed clothes and makeshift armor at him. “Picked this up on the way to Concord. Looks like it’d fit you,”

Bucky caught them and looked at them. It looked like Raider gear, with leather armor for the limbs, and thicker leather for his chest. “Thanks, Preston.” Bucky said, and waited for them to leave so he could change. The dog stayed and watched him, panting with a smile. Behind him was a suit that he recognized, from over 210 years ago. Steve’s Captain America suit, like the one in his dream, but blue and white with red with the ammo belt and the tight cloth to strap around and under your shoulders that would fit the shield.

“Y’know,” Bucky said, petting the dog. “I really like you.” The dog barked happily and followed him out into the living room, where the other two were waiting. Even though Steve was bigger than him, the suit somehow still fit, not as tight as it would on Steve, though. The shield was on his back. He did a 360 and Codsworth applauded him on his look, and Preston looked shocked.

“What?” Bucky asked.

“Are you telling me…” Preston said, looking Bucky up and down. “ _You’re Captain America?!_ ”

Bucky looked at Codsworth. “Actually, no, not me. Steve,” Bucky said, looking at himself and seeing how well he looked.

“Oh. That’s still awesome! I’ve heard bunch of stories about him. And so has a lot of other people,”

“Really?” Bucky asked. The dog butted his head on Bucky’s leg, so he pet his head.

“Oh yeah! Definitely about Anchorage. But also the times before that…” Preston looked down at the dog. “Never about you, though,”

Bucky frowned but nodded. No one really talked about Captain America’s sidekick besides how he got rescued by Steve twice. “No one really did back then,” They were all silent for a moment, besides the dog’s panting. Preston took a deep breath in. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve got another favor to ask,” Bucky raised an eyebrow. “I’ve had word from a settlement asking for help. They’re still hoping there are Minutemen out there somewhere. The only chance to start rebuilding the Minutemen is to show people that they can count on us when they need us. Trouble is, I’ve got my hands full here. Do you think you could go help out the settlement? It’s called Tenpines Bluff,”

Bucky looked around. _Got your hands full with_ what? _What the fuck Preston._ He sighed. “I’d be glad to help.”

Preston perked up. “That’s fantastic! The Minutemen could use more people like you. By the way, if you want to help out around here at all, talk to Sturges. I’m sure he’d be glad for all the help he can get.” Bucky, Codsworth, and the dog watched him leave.

“What does he have his hands full with?” Codsworth asked.

“I was gonna ask you the same thing,” Bucky responded, and pet the dog to tell him they’re leaving. “See you soon, yeah?” His Pip-Boy 3000 has a map on it, and Preston put the settlement’s location on it. It was northwest from Sanctuary Hills; almost a straight line to it.

When he walked out of the house, the others looked at him. “Holy _shit_ , that’s Captain America.” Sturges said. Bucky saluted him, and ran off with the dog leading the way. Tenpines Bluff was at the top of the hill. It had a tiny farm, a tiny shack of a house, and two settlers in front of a cooking station. When he got close, the woman cocked her gun and aimed at him. “What do you want? We don’t need any more trouble around here,” “Didn’t you ask the Minutemen for help?” Bucky responded. The dog started to sniff around, and went to the other settler.

“You’re with the Minutemen? I didn’t really think you fellas still existed…” She inspected him more closely. “Or Captain America. We sent word with one of them passing traders, but honestly I never expected anything to come of it. Most people don’t put much stock in the Minutemen these days, after Quincy. Bad business, that,”

The dog came back from sniffing through their garden, and sat next to Bucky. “Well, we’re rebuilding the Minutemen from the ground up. We’re the good guys again,” She nodded at him. “Glad to hear it. No question that things have been worse since the Minutemen fell to pieces. There’s a Raider gang that’s been giving us trouble for weeks. Stealing food and supplies, threatening to kill us all if we don’t pony up. We know where they’re coming from, but we can’t go up against a gang like that,”

“I’ll kick their asses, don’t worry.”

“Thanks, friend. If you folks are for real this time, it’ll be a welcome change for the better.” He jogged away, then looked at the map. The Raiders aren’t even fucking close to these guys. He put up his head to the sky and groaned, but continued on his way like his new normal.

When he got to the bottom of the hill, there was a warehouse with construction equipment in front of it. The dog growled and ran forward. “No! No! Get back here!” Bucky whispered loudly. He crouched in the bushes, and saw almost still figures, gray and wrinkled, their clothes ripped. _Feral ghouls_ , just like Preston said. Bucky had to help the dog, so he ran forward and attacked. He still only had his lousy 10mm pistol, but did well enough with it.

The second they saw him though, they sprinted towards him, faster than anyone he’d ever seen or heard of. There were two of them. Inside was a terminal; he learned that this place is called Bedford Station. There wasn’t really anything interesting, so he moved on. Outside, there were five more ghouls, just laying on the ground like normal people. The dog wasn’t able to completely kill them, like those..those _mole rats?_ Like yesterday, but he did his best, which Bucky applauded him for.

They went forward on the tracks to the Stationmaster’s office. The terminal there was deactivated; a critical alert had closed it off. But there was a holotape in it that Bucky took.

The two of them went further down the tracks, straight to where they needed to go. It was a big building on another hill, with bright lights, and tall scaffolding. It said it was the Corvega Assembly Plant. Bucky hadn’t personally seen it until right now. In the front was a large spotlight, with two machine gun turrets in front of the main door and a Raider minding his own business. Three more Raiders came outside, saw the commotion, and fired at both Bucky and the dog. _That dog likes fucking action, damn_. Bucky thought. Then he realized a weapon that he had that would save both him and the dog. The _shield_. He could throw it, knock them of the top of the stairs, and protect themselves when it rebounded back to him. It was harder than it looked, but Steve made it look like it was an actual, small plastic Frisbee.

More Raiders were shooting from the roof. Somehow, with his quick thinking, he managed to ricochet the bullets back towards the shooter and kill him instantly. “Way to think of that one later than sooner, dumbass.” Bucky said. Both him and the dog went inside to a big room, with big pipes, metal floors, stairs and guardrails, and spotlights everywhere. There was stairs on each of side of him, so he went to his left.

At the bottom of the stairs, a Raider spotted him and started shooting. Bucky threw the shield at him, completely fucking him up, before the dog could run forward. A Raider from across the room threw a grenade, but Bucky hit it back, and it exploded in front of her, not completely killing her.

He went backwards to the other side, ran to the semi-circle of scaffolding, where all ten of the Raiders were hanging around two floors down. They all shot up at him, but Bucky put his shield upside down, like an umbrella, so the bullets would rain down on them with almost as much force as when they were shot in the first place. One even threw a grenade, thinking it would go past Bucky, but he hit it with the shield and it exploded in midair. A Raider managed to run up the stairs to where Bucky was but was shot instantly. Bucky tried his best to kill these people before the dog got to it first.

He’s always liked dogs, but was never allowed to have one, so he’d hang around with other people’s dogs at the park or around school or their house. And Steve was allergic, but he still liked the things. They should’ve gotten one before the end of the war. Before the Vault. Codsworth might’ve even had a friend, even if only for a little while. So, when he saw an attack dog, he regained his thoughts from what he was doing only a few seconds before. He decided to let his dog companion attack him, so he could take out two Raiders that walked up the stairs across from him. The shield bounced behind them, knocking both of them over the rail to fall two stories down.

One of the Raiders that was still somehow alive yelled, “WHAT THE FUCK, DUDE?” About ten more Raiders came into the room below, and quickly figured out what Bucky’s attack patterns were. He ran to a main walkway to a body that had a laser rifle. He didn’t get one of these bad boys in the war, either. He shot one Raider from behind a box, and they disintegrated into an ash pile. “Holy _fuck_.” Bucky had no choice but to walk further down to defeat the rest of the Raiders.

He passed the dead attack dog from earlier, and put it on the dog, so he couldn’t run off past Bucky in a fight and almost die. So, he, with his shield in front of him and his gun peeking out of the side, and the dog walked down the stairs. The lasers from the Raiders’ guns did absolutely nothing to the shield, which meant there was no blowback towards the shooter. So he couldn’t use his ricochet tactic anymore (he could only do that with grenades at the moment, but they learned earlier that that would be the worst idea they’ve ever made with Bucky so close). “WHY THE _FUCK_ WOULD YOU THROW A GRENADE SO CLOSE? YOU FUCKED UP MY LEG!”

When he got closer, there was a small pod of a room with a machine gun turret in the window and a Raider behind it. With enough ricocheted shots, the turret exploded, killing the Raider. There was a terminal in the room, and a gated off closet that had ammo and weapons inside. Luckily, Bucky had enough bobby pins to open it (he fucked it up twice before).

He went back around to where he had come from, and heard a Raider talking to another one. “I got it! I got it. Why are you always in a such a bad mood?”

“That’s why I’m alive, dumbass. And since I’ve got to rely on your sorry ass to watch my back, that’s why I’m trying to keep you alive, too. Enough yapping already. Somebody could be sneaking up on us right now.”

“Whatever you say, boss.”

Bucky snuck around the corner and saw them. They were in a dirty concrete hallway, with ravaged lockers and a Nuka-Cola vending machine. He made the dog stay put. He walked out, with gun and shield up. “That’s right,” he said, shooting at both of them. “Whatever you say, boss.” He finally killed them, with the shield. He whistled for the dog to follow him again.

Up the stairs was a kitchen that had nothing in it, and after two flights of stairs was the main room was. It had giant stacks of storage bins ready for transportation, a giant assembly line with half-completed cars, a few big spotlights, a pod room at the top of the stairs with machine gun turrets on top, and some Raiders walking around. He also saw a terminal next to a Protectron pod. (The word was “honesty”). There wasn’t an option to turn off the spotlights or turret, so he sighed and was forced to walk out into the open, where almost ten Raiders were, shooting at him on sight.

He killed the closest one with the Laser Rifle, and the turrets with his shield. He finally got hurt enough that he had to hide behind the huge closed-up generator in the middle of the room and use a Stimpak. He sadly watched his Protectron get blown apart, and went back into the open, deciding to run up the stairs, where the last few were, in the pod. For some reason, the ramp across was split, so he had to hit a button to bring both sides together so he could get across. He stayed hidden until it was completely attached to one another. It reminded him of Steve rescuing him from that cold, metal table, where they had to jump over to get out, while the floors almost ten flights below them was exploding and on fire. He wouldn’t leave without Steve, who was stuck on the other side. But Steve is gone, now. He can’t think about that anymore.

He was stuck in thought that one the Raiders had run across and sliced part of Bucky’s forehead. He yelled and hit the Raider with the shield so hard that he fell off and over the railing, hitting construction equipment, then hitting the floor with a loud, “Aghh.” There was only the two left. One wasn’t even wearing armor, but the other, bigger one was stacked with armor, almost half as much as Power Armor. In the first pod was broken metal tables and filing cabinets and terminals. On the outside of it was a cigarette machine and a Nuka-Cola vending machine.

The second had a terminal, a mattress on the ground, a huge steamer trunk, and a copy “Grognak the Barbarian”.

On the terminal was:

       -Setting up Shop

       -Stumped

       -Subjects

       -Experiments Continue

       -She’s Here!

       ->Spotlight Control

       ->Turret Control

He shut down both of the turrets and spotlights, even though they weren’t needed anymore. The “She’s Here!” entry said something interesting and familiar: the guy was talking about a cowboy man and an old gypsy-looking lady that has the “Sight”. That could only mean Mama Murphy. Preston did say that they had multiple run-ins with Raiders. This could be one of them. Bucky wondered if they were captured for a long period of time for Mama Murphy’s ‘skill’, or only to ‘use’ her once. He wasn’t completely sure. He’d have to ask.

He strapped the shield to his back, and he and the dog left the building to go back to Tenpines Bluff. There were still the two Raiders on the roof, but he and the dog ran off instead of going back to kill them. “Wasn’t worth it, bud.” He said to the dog, once the shooting stopped. When they got back, the woman he talked to before was tending to her... _tatos_?.

“Well, well. Captain America is back. Did you take care of those Raiders?”

“You know I kicked their asses for you, right?” Bucky joked.

“No shit? That’s the best piece of news we’ve had around here for a good long time. So...we’ve been talking -- we decided if you came through for us, we’d join up with the Minutemen again. If we want things to get better, we’ve got to start helping each other. So...we’re in. You can count on us if you need help down the line. Thanks again, friend.” She gave him 100 bottle caps and food. The next step was to tell Preston the good news.

So, Bucky and the dog took their time walking back to Sanctuary Hills -- had to go through a group of feral dogs -- and shared some food. Even Bucky talked to him like a person. He just smiled and panted at Bucky the whole time when he wasn’t eating. When they got back, they ran into Jun, Marcy’s distraught brother. “I wanted to thank you, f-for helping us out in Concord...if only we’d run into you sooner,” he said.

“Well, it all worked out in the end,”

“ _No_. Our problems aren’t so simple…My son, he’s...he’s gone,”

Bucky was taken aback by him, first by the harsh ‘no’ and the news of his son. “That’s...awful. No parent should have to lose their child,” “

No. No, they shouldn’t. I just keep thinking, maybe I could have done more. Anyway, thanks again.” Jun walked away, his shoulders slumped. Bucky watched him go sit inside, then went to find Preston. The dog didn’t follow, but sniffed around instead. He was almost right next to the bridge at the entrance of Sanctuary Hills.

Bucky caught up with him. “You know that settlement you sent me to help? They’ve decided to join the Minutemen,”

“That’s great news!” Preston said. “I knew you were the right person for the job,” Bucky nodded as a ‘thank you’. Preston continued: “By the way, you should have one of these flare guns. You can use it to signal for help from any nearby Minutemen. Not much use yet, but once we have more allied settlements, you’ll have help whenever you need it. So...there’s something I need to ask you,”

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “What now?”

“Well, I don’t think I ever told you about what happened to the Minutemen. How I ended up as the last one,”

“‘Kay, I’m listening,”

“Have you heard of the Quincy Massacre?”

“No. What was it?”

“I thought everyone in the Commonwealth knew that by now,”

“I literally just got here from over there, Preston,” Bucky said, pointing to the Vault on the top of the hill.

“Pfft. I knew that. Anyway, where the Minutemen betrayed each other and the people they were supposed to protect,” Preston said with a frown.

“Oh, fuck,”

“Yeah. I was with Colonel Hollis’s group. A mercenary group called the Gunners was attacking Quincy; the people there called for the Minutemen to help. We were the only ones that came. The other groups...they just turned their backs. On us, and the folks in Quincy. Only a few of us got out alive. Colonel Hollis was dead. So I ended up in charge of the survivors. We never found a safe place to settle. One disaster after another...you saw how it ended in Concord,”

“Like that fucking _Deathclaw_. That shit was crazy. Sorry,” Bucky said. He remembered what Preston just told him and came up with the best answer. “As long as you don’t give up, the Minutemen will survive,”

“I’m not about to give up. But I can’t protect the Commonwealth all by myself. Hell, I could barely protect these people. That’s why I’m talking to you. I can’t rebuild the Minutemen...but I think you can,”

Bucky joked by looking behind him, as if Preston was talking to someone else. But, after hearing this, he thought of his dead Steve coming to destroy the Minutemen. His Minutemen, as of right now. He can’t tell Preston that. Who knows what he’ll do. Maybe leave again? He doesn’t know if there’s any other safe place, besides the Diamond City everyone keeps talking about. But instead, he nodded. “That means a lot, coming from you, Garvey,”

“I appreciate that. Does that mean you’ll do it?”

Bucky took a deep breath in. “Okay. I’ll do it,”

“Good. Good! Welcome aboard. I feel like this is a whole new start for the Minutemen, and the Commonwealth, too. Don’t worry, I’ll be beside you all the way...General,”

_Oh, no_. Now Bucky’s _really_ in for it. “Why are you calling me ‘General’?”

“The leader of the Minutemen has always held the rank of General. Our last leader was General Becker. After he died back in ‘82, nobody could agree on who should take his place. The one good thing about being the last Minuteman is there’s no one to argue with me when I say you’re the new General. Now it’s your job to make it more than an empty title. I’ve got something a bit different for you,”

Bucky put his head to one side. Preston continued, “Our scouts have found a promising spot for a new settlement. The problem is that some kind of vicious beats are there. Once you clear it out, set up a radio beacon to let settlers know about it. Before you know it, we’ll have a thriving new farm instead of wasteland. We’ll take back the Commonwealth, one piece at a time.” Preston said, and walked off looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. But Bucky did. _How the_  fuck _am I supposed to do this? ‘Steve’ will kill them. The more people that become a Minuteman is the more people that I have to save. I can’t go and do Preston’s tasks all the time._ Bucky can’t go to sleep in fear of “Steve”, but he also can’t befriend more Minutemen in fear of “Steve”, too. He can’t sit around all day either. So, he’s decided to head for Diamond City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: captainsmeesh  
> come see what the fuck is up
> 
> Steve's suit insp: http://anuyan.tumblr.com/post/135944791185
> 
> Bucky's suit is just the suit from cap2 with some red.


	10. Unlikely Valentine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky goes to Diamond City, and begins the hunt for Nick Valentine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This boy is LONG. I hope you enjoy reading it!

Everyone was right. The thing really _is_ the ‘Great Green Jewel of the Commonwealth’. Little did Bucky know that it’s actually Fenway Park, but reinforced into a big settlement with security, turrets, more safety precautions. There must a lot of good people in there. The place was easy to find, too. It was just southeast from Sanctuary Hills, on the outskirts of actual downtown Boston.

The huge green gate of the entrance was shut, and a woman wearing a journalist’s outfit was having an argument with whoever was on the other side of the intercom. “What do you mean you can’t open the gate? Stop playing around, Danny! I’m standing out in the open here, for crying out loud!”

Danny responded, his voice half-static. “I got orders not to let you in, Ms. Piper. I’m sorry. I’m just doing my job,”

Piper was flailing her arms around being dramatic even though Danny couldn’t see her. Bucky bet that he knew Piper was doing it. “Ooo! ‘Just doing your job?’ Protecting Diamond city means keeping me out, is that it? ‘Oh look, it’s the scarrrryyyy reporter!’ Boo!”

“I’m sorry, but Mayor McDonough’s really steamed, Piper. Sayin’ that article you wrote was all lies. The whole city’s in a tizzy,”

“Agh! You open this gate right now, Danny Sullivan! I live here. You can’t just lock me out!” Piper sighed. She leaned in closer. “I can wait all day, Danny. Open up!” She looked up at the sky. It was about to rain soon. Then she turned around and saw Bucky. She whispered loudly at him, “Hey, you. You want into Diamond City, right?”

“I just got here, but yeah,”

She nodded. “Shh. Play along,” she spoke louder, so Danny could hear that she was actually talking to someone else. “What was that? You said you’re a trader up from Quincy? You have enough supplies to keep the general store stocked for a whole month? Huh,” she leaned closer to the intercom. “You hear that, Danny? You gonna open the gate and let us in, or are you gonna be the one talking to crazy Myrna about losing out on this supply?”

“Geez, all right. No need to make it personal, Piper. Give me a minute,”

“Better head inside quick before ole’ Danny catches on to the bluff.”

And with that, the giant green gate under a painted white diamond, opened. “Sounds good, let’s go in,” Bucky responded.

“Another great day in Diamond City,” both of them walked between the four doorways inside. A short fat man, presumably McDonough, walked in from a gate on top of a ramp that leads into the inside of Diamond City. “Piper! Who let you inside? I told Sullivan to keep that gate shut! You devious, rabble-rousing slanderer! The...the level of dishonesty in that paper of yours! I’ll have that printer scrapped for parts,”

Piper walked up to him and made big hand gestures toward him. “Ooo, that a statement, Mr. McDonough? ‘Tyrant mayor shuts down the press’?” Piper turned towards him. “Why don’t we ask the newcomer? Do you support the news? ‘Cause the Mayor’s threatening to throw free speech in the dumpster!”

Bucky looked between the two. “Always believed in freedom of the press,”

McDonough put up his hands. “Oh-ho, I didn’t mean to bring you into this argument, good sir. No no no...you look like Diamond City material,” he fixed his tie and cleared his throat. And put up his arms in welcome. “Welcome to the great green jewel of the Commonwealth. Safe. Happy. A fine place to come, spend your money, settle down,” he gestured towards Piper. “Don’t let this muckraker here tell you otherwise, all right?”

“I’m sure it’s a great place…” Yeah,” Piper said sarcastically. Great house of cards in the Commonwealth...until the wind blows,”

McDonough cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. Bucky looked at him suspiciously. “Now...was there anything particular you came to our city for?”

Bucky frowned. “I’m...trying to find someone,”

“Trying to find someone? Who?” McDonough asked. “My...my fiance,” Bucky responded.

“Wait, they’re missing?” Piper asked, then turned back towards McDonough. Using her big gestures to get the point across again, she said, “Oh, you hear that, McDonough? What’s Diamond City Security going to do to help this man, huh? This isn’t the first missing person’s report to come through here, and now we’ve got a fiance who’s been taken!”

McDonough put up his hands. “Uh, don’t listen to her. I’m afraid our security team can’t follow _every_ case that comes through. But I’m confident you can find help here. Diamond City has every conceivable service know to man. One of our great citizens can surely find the time to help you,”

“I hope so,” Bucky said, still frowning.

Piper chimed in. “This is ridiculous! Diamond City Security can’t spare _one_ officer to help? I want the _truth_ , McDonough. What’s the _real reason_ security never investigates one of these cas--”

“I’ve heard enough of this, Piper! From now on, consider _you_ and that little sister of yours on notice!”

“Yeah, yeah, keep talking McDonough, that’s all you’re good for!” He huffed and walked back into the city. Piper turned back to Bucky once again. “Hmm, a _big_ Diamond City welcome from the mayor. You feel honored yet?” Piper said, then calmed down. “Look, I gotta go get settled in, but, um, step by my office later. I have an idea for an article you’d be per--” Bucky heard rustling from behind him, and saw someone try to shoot Piper.

Bucky tried to block the bullet with his shield, but he missed. The bullet hit Piper in the arm. Bucky ran out and threw the shield to the assailant on the roof of the building across the street. The person caught it, stared at Bucky, then threw it back with such a force that Bucky’s feet almost gave under him when he caught it against his stomach. He had to hold the dog back so he wouldn’t go chasing after him.

So Bucky, a security guard from outside, and maybe Danny came to help Piper, and a security guard still outside followed the shooter from only moments ago. Since they ran in with Piper, all that Bucky saw was the long stairs that went into the city, and the bright lights around him. The doctor had a shack on the right side of town, and the second he saw them, he opened the door to his lab for Piper to get medical treatment. A small girl came in from behind them and yelled “Piper!”. She was wearing a leather jacket, green shirt, a somewhat ripped pink skirt, leggings underneath, and boots. Bucky guessed that this was Piper’s little sister.

The three men were forced outside, so Danny and the other guard went back outside to their posts, and Bucky went to the bar in the middle of the place. It looked like this was where everyone ate together; everyone’s walked past it about a million times, at least. There was a Protectron wearing a chef’s hat and stirring a pot of noodles. A woman sitting at the bar told him to not question the robot and just say ‘yes’. The thing only speaks Japanese.

He looked around from that spot. Looking towards the entrance was where Piper’s sister was, so that must be the press, then a barber, a clothing store, a store with a guy waving a baseball bat around to get people’s attention, then a main weapons store, then a general store, a locked home, then a drug dealer and the doctor’s. He went and looked around. The shack across from ‘Publick Occurrences’ was the church. He was surprised about how much could be fit on one baseball field.

It was almost night time, so a Mr. Handy switched places with an angry-looking woman. Bucky walked up to talk to him. He was just as enthusiastic as Codsworth. But he was a trader while Codsworth was just a simple Mr. Handy, but Bucky’s friend too. “We’re having a sale! Wait...my sensors are telling me we don’t have sales! Hahaha.”

“Are you friends with that mean-looking lady?” Bucky asked.

“A-ha! That’s Myrna. And yes, I am, sir!”

“Alright.” Bucky said, walking back to the bar in the middle of the Diamond City Market. Piper and her sister where in the doctor’s shack that Bucky had way too much time for himself. _To his thoughts_.

Bucky hadn’t gotten a good look at Piper’s attacker. But Bucky’s almost 100 percent sure that Piper only has ‘enemies’ _inside_ Diamond City...so the guy was aiming for Bucky but somehow missed. That could only mean one thing: _Steve_. Even though he was only in Bucky’s subconscious, he somehow told the truth. Bucky doesn’t know how he would be able to do that? Did Steve _literally_ get into his mind? He could have; Bucky doesn’t know about the technology nowadays; if some people have advanced technology to get Steve into his head, and others with basic technology from before the War, and maybe more advancements afterwards. He’d have to ask Piper. McDonough _did_ say that Piper’s printing press was going to be scrapped for parts if she didn’t stop her ‘shenanigans’. The weird thing is that Piper’s already so complexed than anyone he’s met so far. Even all of the new Minutemen who have joined the cause. _His_ Minutemen. And now he’s a threat to Diamond City. But Bucky _knows_ , with all his might, that Steve wouldn’t destroy a settlement as big as this one. He might do it to Bucky, when he’s around almost the whole population, meaning the Market. With this thought, Bucky stood up and looked around, his senses on high alert. He might’ve snuck in...somehow. Hopefully he doesn’t, at least, _not yet_. Bucky hasn’t done anything really important to find Steve yet.

The doctor came out and advised Bucky to go to the Dugout Inn for the night, that Piper won’t be able to get up yet, as much as she keeps trying to. He didn’t point to where the inn was though, which made Bucky annoyed. _Where?_ Turns out it’s on the side of the southeast. The inside was re-furnished, but still dirty and dull as everywhere else. At the bar was two men with thick accents arguing, but Bucky didn’t want to get involved, so he sat in the chair across from the bar until they were done. The man at the bar, who looks tougher than the other introduced himself as Yadim Barbrov, and the other Yefim, who ran the small hotel. Yadim offered Bucky a specialized Barbrov Moonshine, which Bucky declined. The hotel cost ten caps, and luckily Bucky had enough.

The room he got was right outside of the main room of the inn. His new rented room was small, with a bed and dressers. He let the dog on the bed first, and layed next to him. Bucky tried sleeping, but stared at the ceiling for almost two hours before he decided to get up to go back to the bar. Yadim was still there, being loud, and offered Bucky the personalized moonshine again. Bucky accepted the big jar and laid out a pile of caps. He went back into the bedroom, where the dog was sleeping on the foot of the bed. Bucky’s not one to get drunk quickly. Steve was always the one to get drunk first. Even though the ‘super serum’ made him almost invincible to it, he managed to after almost one hour of chugging down alcohol. This time, Bucky chugged down under half of the moonshine, which was the worst idea ever, but when he passed out, there was no dreams -- with or without ‘Steve’ -- to be had.

***

The dog and Piper’s sister came to wake him. That was also the worst idea in the world. He’d have to put four Stimpaks into his head to get rid of his hangover. She took his hand to go back outside into the Market, but instead to the doctor’s they went to their home/printing press. He didn’t see Piper, but the dog went upstairs. Piper’s sister went to get a small paper from on top of the old-school printer.

“Free paper to newcomers. If the Institute grabs you in the night, as least we warned you,”

Bucky rubbed his forehead. “The Institute?”

“You ain’t heard of the Institute, mister? They snatch people up in the night and no one hears from them again. It’s all in the paper! Better read up before they grab you, too,”

“Okay, um. Thanks,”

She scoffed. “You’re a real lost lamb in the wolf’s den, mister,” she gave him the paper. It said “The Synthetic Truth. By Piper Wright.” on the front in scrawled handwriting. “So what are you doing in Diamond City, anyway?”

“I came here looking for someone,” Bucky said, frowning. Sometimes he thinks he should give up on this whole adventure and just do Preston’s dumb Minutemen tasks, but Steve would do the same for him, just like before.

“Let me guess. That someone’s gone missing, right? That’s what I’m telling ya! So who is it?”

“My fiance,” Bucky still thinks that being homosexual is frowned upon, and Steve would agree, especially with his ‘looking around before they kiss’ trademark. But that’s all he decided to say.

“You’re in bad luck, mister. No one tries to find missing people in Diamond City. Missing people means the Institute’s involved. And no one’s going to want to get the Institute’s attention,”

Bucky shrugged, his head still hurting. “You’re a smart kid. Isn’t there someone in town who isn’t afraid of the Institute?”

“Well, there is the detective, Mister Nick Valentine. He’s not afraid of anything. If anyone’s gonna help you, it’s him,”

“Thanks. You were a big help.”

“Remember, the Institute’s out there, newcomer. Watch your back!”

Bucky leaves with his dog companion and goes to find the famous ‘Mister Nick Valentine’. His detective agency has a big pink heart with an arrow through it. When he walks in, the first thing he sees is a woman talking to herself in front of a filing cabinet, her back turned to him. There are also two tables, boxes, and larger filing cabinets with paper strewn everywhere.

When he goes up to her, she sighs, annoyed. “Another stray coming in from the rain. ‘Fraid you’re too late. Office is closed,”

Bucky put his hands up. “I know you must be busy, but I won’t take much of your time, miss. It’s important,”

She looked at him, up and down and sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude, but it’s just...the detective. He’s gone missing,”

“I can help. You just need to tell me what’s up,”

She sighed heavily. “Nick was working a case. Skinny Malone’s gang had kidnapped a young woman, and he tracked them down to their hideout in Park Street Station. There’s an old Vault down there they use as a base. I told Nick he was walking into a trap, but he just smiled and walked out the door like he always does,”

Bucky nodded. “I’ll find him. You have my word.”

“Thank you. Nick should be easy to spot. He’s always wearing that old hat and trench coat get up. Please, hurry!”

When he walked outside, he heard yelling in the market. He ran over and saw people surrounding one man pointing a gun at the other, who had his hands up. “Kyle. I’m your brother! Put the gun down!”

“Don’t move, synth! What have you done with the real Riley? Where’s my brother?!”

“I swear, I’m not a Synth! Don’t shoot! For God sakes, we’re family!”

By now Diamond City Security had ran over. “Put the gun down! Now!”

“He’s a synth! He’ll kill us all!” From behind Bucky, one of the guards killed the man holding the gun. “Kyle! No!”

“Okay, show’s over!” the security guard said to everyone still in the Market. “There are no synths in Diamond City, hear me?! Just you folks and your damn paranoia!” The guy, Riley spoke to him, since he got there at the last moment. “He...he pulled a gun on me. My own brother…”

“What the hell happened here?”

“I’m...I’m not a synth. I told him. I kept telling him. Why didn’t he listen to me? I...I need a minute.” He said, and turned his back away from Bucky.

The security guard stepped in. “I need you to step _away_ , scavver,”

“Fuck, man. I just want to know what happened,”

“What, you didn’t hear the shouting? Guy pulls a gun on his own brother, thinking he’s a synth. It’s that newspaper’s fault. Got people all riled up, thinking their own family might be replaced by machines. Look, I’m sorry you got caught up in all this, but it’s over, okay? Just go about your business like nothing happened. Better that way.” Bucky nodded, looked back to the mess behind him, and left to find Nick Valentine.

***

The entrance to Park Street Station is attached to the side of the Boston Commons, where he and Steve were planning to go to for a nice weekend. Right by the entrance is a Protectron designed to be a tour guide and tell the history of this place. The small pond in the middle was all gross and dirty, and something big was laying in the middle of it. Bucky didn’t go check it out. All he wanted to do was find this Nick Valentine guy and get some _fucking answers_.

The subways in Boston are different than the ones in New York or Brooklyn. The walls here were blue tiles instead of the regular dark red, white or the natural color of the wall with murals on some walls. In the station was vending machines, the office for tickets on the left, and bathrooms on the right. He could see that in the office was a Protectron. Then he heard voices, some regular, some harsh and raspy. He held the dog with him to sneak on over to the office. He had to unlock the door with a bobby pin, but by now he had gotten really good at it.

There were those big roaches -- he heard someone call them Radroaches. They were barely a problem. He had a to unlock another door that led to the actual office with the Protectron. It was locked, but not too hard (the word was ‘bag’). He switched the Protectron’s personality to Fire Brigadier, since those guys sounded like a big problem. The thing walked out and did it’s thing, and Bucky looted the items behind the counter and in the table.

The guys finally came around the corner. They were holding machine guns and were wearing suits with suspenders and battered up black fedoras. He guessed that the guy with the raspy voice was a ghoul, since he looked like a better-looking version of the feral ghouls Bucky has encountered before. He and the dog waited to see how long the Protectron would hold up, but they didn’t attack it, since it didn’t attack them. The dog looked at him confused, and Bucky gave him a look of “I don’t know what’s going on either”.

The guys were talking about general things, including being a part of Skinny Malone’s gang. “I still say Malone’s weak. We caught that detective snooping around, and what does he do? Locks him up. Like he ain’t got the balls to just kill him.” said the guy with the normal voice.

“Well, don’t let his new girl hear that. She’ll start swinging that bat of hers at your face until there ain’t no face left.” said the guy with the raspy voice. So the girl has a bat. Why hasn’t she gotten away, then? Bucky had had enough, so he killed the closest one to him with a knife he found, and the other with his gun. Then another one came out of the bathroom and yelled at him. Bucky used the shield to ricochet the bullets back at him, then looked the other way if more people were coming. There weren’t.

There wasn’t anything in the bathrooms, and almost nothing to loot on the guys, so he walked further into the station and down the stairs. From the top of the second flight of steps he could see that the train tracks were filled with rubble, some things were knocked over and looted, there were big shipping containers randomly placed and was just in a disarray. From there, he could only see two people, but going down further he found about eight more people, and somehow one spotted them, so each came over and shot at him. Bucky made sure to hold the dog behind him, since there was no way that the dog was going to be able to survive this.

“ _Oh fuck! It’s that Captain America guy! Get the FUCK CLEAR!_ ” Bucky took a quick peek over the shield when the shooting stopped. He saw one guy running away further down the tracks, so he threw the shield, knocking the guy out.

He let the dog go from behind him, and ran to get the shield before anyone else could, since he knows that there’s more guys down there. He and the dog went back around and looted items; there was even a bright blue Nuka-Cola Quantum on the top of a pile of rubble that engulfed a wrecked car. When he saw more lights further down, he whistled for the dog to come behind him, and they crept forward dodging the construction lights as they got closer, the shield in front of both of them.

There were only about five guys this time, standing in front the giant Vault door of Vault 114. They were remarkably easier to get rid of compared to the other guys from the beginning of the train tracks. Bucky walked up the small set of stairs and plugged in the block from the back of his Pip-Boy. It said “VAULT DOOR REMOTE ACCESS: READY”. He unplugged it, and hit the button to open the door. Lights flashed, and the alarm went off, signaling that the giant gear of a door. It reminded him of the Vault he escaped from. And where Steve was kidnapped and Bucky couldn’t do anything about it. But he can’t afford to think about that anymore. Steve is gone, and Bucky’s still on his quest to find him. He had to find Nick Valentine first.

When Bucky crossed the ramp into the first room, he heard a normal voice,

“Goddamit. I hate it when they open the door. Why’s that thing so loud?”

When they realized Bucky had opened the door and not one of their own, one yelled “Oh, it’s on!” and came out guns blazing for him. He and the dog had quietly agreed for him to stay behind Bucky until he was allowed to move to get someone, or once it was safe again. One guy had a gun, the other a wooden baseball bat. He let the dog go for the batter, and he took care of the other man.

Once that was dealt with, Bucky decided to look around. The Vault this time looked unfinished, like the construction men brought everything in and then left it as it was. So small containers were randomly placed around the room, with a locked door. In the room were the men were there was a big item with multiple shelves. He went through the sliding door and down the stairs, shield still up, but not being sneaky this time. However, when they got to the bottom, he heard voices, so they got down, the dog behind him.

“So, I got a question. Why the hell would anyone build a Vault out of a subway station? This place is like...the opposite of air-tight.”

A ghoul’s voice answered. “Because they weren’t planning to use it, you moron. We used to pull this kind of con all the time back before the war. Get a bunch of union boys to work some construction job that would go nowhere. Keep everyone on payroll.” _So there are also people from before the war?_

Bucky killed the two guys from around the door, and continued down the long hallway. Outside of the door was a big room, with walkways and stairs over a dirt ground. He couldn’t see exactly how many guys there were, but he and the dog went with a gun blazing, blocking bullets from other people from the side of him. There were originally three guys, but four more came in from a door on the other side of the room. Someone with a baseball bat came towards them, so the dog did his job and came back to Bucky with a smile, even though they were in the middle of a gunfight.

When they got to the next room filled with junk, their only way forward was to jump down two floors beneath. Bucky looked at the dog, who looked back. Bucky put the shield on his back and clapped towards the dog so he could pick him up, to jump down together, so the dog wouldn’t get hurt. Even Bucky wasn’t sure if he’d break his fucking ankles, but then again he’s done it many times before. The room didn’t have much in it, so they went through the door that finally led them to actual Vault 114.

He put the dog back of the floor and they walked down two hallways, and the door led to the floor above what would be the cafeteria. On the floor above them across the room was a guy talking to someone behind a glass window. “Bet you five that’s Nick.” Bucky said to the dog.

“Want a snack?”

“Keep talking, meathead,” said a sarcastic voice.

“Nick.” Bucky said, crouching forward towards the stairs.

“It’ll give Skinny Malone more time to think about how he’s gonna bump you off!”

“Don’t give me that crap Valentine. You know nothing, you got that?”

“Really?! I saw him writing your name down in that black book of his. ‘Lousy cheating card shark’ I think were his exact words. Then he struck the name across three times,” Nick said.

The other guy gasped. “Three strikes? In the black book? But I never...oh no...I gotta smooth this over! Fast!”

“Shame you won’t be able to.” Bucky said, shooting him once; killing him instantly. Nick yelled out to him. “Hey, you! I don’t know who you are, but we got three minutes before they realize muscles-for-brains ain’t coming back. Get this door open!” The guy had the password for the terminal nearby, which opened the door of Nick’s temporary room. He entered, and sure enough there was a guy in the fedora and trench coat, but looked half-human half-human, which freaked Bucky out, but he didn’t show it. “Ah, knight-in-shining-armor. But the question is, why does he come all this way, risk life and limb, for an old private eye?”

“What...uh, are you?” Bucky gave in, asking.

“Told you. I’m a detective. Look, I know the skin and the metal parts ain’t comforting, but it’s not important right now. The only thing that matters is why you went to all this trouble to cut me loose,”

“My fiance is missing. He was kidnapped, but I don’t know who took him, or where they went,”

“A missing person, huh? Well, you came to the right man. If not the right place. I’ve been cooped up in here for weeks. Turns out the runaway daughter I came here to find wasn’t kidnapped. She’s Skinny Malone’s new flame, and she’s got a mean streak. Anyway, you got troubles, and I’m glad to help. But now ain’t the time. Let’s blow this joint. Then we’ll talk.” Nick ran out of the room, the dog following, and Bucky caught up after taking the bobblehead on the Overseer’s desk.

“Malone’s crew here used to be small time, muscled out of the old neighborhood by bigger players. Until they found this place. Don’t know what happened to the previous owners, but they’re not exactly around to charge rent. An empty Vault. Perfect hideout,” they went through another door and down some stairs and stopped when Nick said “Hold up! I hear some of them coming,” The dog automatically came to be behind Bucky. “There they are. How do you want to play this?”

Bucky put his shield in front of him. Nick nodded, but they didn’t move. He was waiting for Bucky to go, but he was listening to more guys who came into the cafeteria.

“Heh, and mama thought I was gonna be a doctor...only surgery I do ain’t the kind you walk away from…” Looking through the window, Bucky saw three men walking around, roughing up useless items still left there on the tables. He looked at Nick and nodded his head towards the open door to the cafeteria. “We’re just gonna fuckin’ go for it.” Bucky whispered. And, so they did. Obviously, it was easy. And this detective isn’t so bad either.

When that was done and over with, Nick casually started running again, with the dog right on his tail. “Hard and loud, huh? Well, it gets the job done. Too bad for whoever cleans up the floors…” he said, and Bucky shrugged. The hallway they went down was probably the most cluttered he’s seen. When they got to the next door, Bucky almost ran into Nick because he stopped abruptly. “The door’s on the fritz. Let me see if I can get it open…” Nick’s right hand that was completely metal did most of the work compared to his other hand, that looked like any other normal hand. Bucky would’ve walked around to see what else was there, but seeing a guy with crazy hands trying to unlock a door was fascinating to him. “Almost got it...there we are. Hell of a lot easier to do when the lock isn’t on the other side…”

He got the door open. Bucky was completely amazed by it that he just stood there for a few seconds thinking about it. Then remembered the task at hand. They had to run _back up_ a flight of stairs this time. At the door of the hallway was a man with a baseball bat, so his dog knew what to do. He missed Nick, and almost hit Bucky in the face with it. There were three guys above them, and two on the same floor, but Bucky couldn’t see them. He did, however, see an issue of “Astoundingly Awesome Tales”. To the left of them was a room with bunk beds and a man with a machine gun came running in. Luckily, the shield was in Bucky’s hands, and not on his back. In the next hallway, a man in a dirty blue suit came at Bucky with a wooden baseball bat, but he managed to grab it and use it against the guy who had it in the first place. Behind a door was a pile of random storage containers, and Nick fighting a guy right next to him. He helped Nick out, and he gave his thanks.

They continued on their way out of the Vault, which led to more stairs. Nick stopped at the bottom and groaned. “More stairs? Who built this damn Vault, a fitness instructor?” Bucky smirked and decided to go ahead. At the top, he ran into two men who started shooting on sight. At the end of that, Nick decided to catch up and take the lead again, to the next flight of stairs going up. “Skinny Malone and the rest of his boys are waiting for us, somewhere. The name’s, uh, ironic, but don’t let that fool you. He’s dangerous,” Nick said. The next room had a bunch of shelves with cardboard boxes on top, some filled with Vault 114 jumpsuits, and a table with a terminal. “Another locked door. Shouldn’t be too hard…” Before Nick opened the door, he looked at Bucky. “Okay, I got it, but I hear big, fat footsteps on the other side. Once we step through this door, get ready for anything.” Bucky nodded at him, and the dog came back to Bucky.

When they went through, a big guy in a suit was standing next to a young woman wearing a blue sequin dress, and wielding a baseball bat. Behind them were two guys, like all the rest before. “Nicky? What’re you doin’? You come into my house. Shoot up my guys. You have any idea how much this is gonna set me back?” Skinny Malone said. Nick was right: the name really _is_ ironic.

“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for your two-timing dame, Skinny. You ought to tell her to write home more often,” Nick said.

The young woman chimed in. “Aww...poor wittle Valentine. Ashamed you got beat up by a girl? I’ll just turn back home to daddy, shall I?”

“Darla, please,” Skinny said to her. He turned back to Bucky and Nick. “Should’ve left it alone, Nicky. This ain’t the old neighborhood. In this Vault, _I’m_ king of the castle, you hear me? And I’m not lettin’ some private dick shut us down now that I finally got a good thing goin’!”

“I told you we should’ve just killed him, but then you had to get all sentimental! All that stupid crap about the ‘old times,’” Darla said.

“Darla, I’m handling this! Skinny Malone’s always got things under control!”

She pointed at Bucky with her bat. “Oh yeah? Then what’s this guy doin’ here, huh? Valentine must have brought him here to rub us all out!”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Darla, listen to me. You have a home to go back to. You don’t want to throw your life away with these things,”

She put down her bat. “I...I...You’re right! What am I doing? I’ve gotten all mixed up!”

Skinny Malone chimed back in. “Darla? Wh-where are you goin’?”

“Home, Skinny! Where I should have been all this time. This is goodbye for us,” she said, and then headed out to leave the Vault. Skinny watched her go, then turned back to Nick and Bucky. “Oh, come on, Nicky! You cost me my men, now you and your friend cost me my girl?”

“My friend here just did you a favor, Skinny. You always did have a bad taste in women,” Nick said. _Oh shit, Nick! Sick fuckin’ burn!_ Bucky thought. “Now that she’s not around to feed that temper of yours, maybe you’ll see sense and let us walk? You still owe me for two weeks in the hole.”

“You smug, overconfident ass...agh! All right you get to the count of ten! I still see your face after that, I’m gunning both of you down!”

Nick nudged Bucky’s arm. “We better get out of here. Fast!” Bucky followed Nick again, but instead of heading all the way out the way Bucky came in, they left using a ladder going up to a manhole.

“Ah, look at that Commonwealth sky. Never thought anything so naturally ominous could end up looking so inviting…” Nick was looking at the moon, then turned to Bucky. “Thanks for getting me out. How did you know where to find me, anyway? Not many people knew where I went…”

“Your secretary, Ellie. She sent me,”

“She did? I should give her a raise. Now, you mentioned something about your fiance? And how they went missing. I want you to come to my office in Diamond City. Give me all the details. Besides, I think you’ve earned a chance to sit down and clear your head.”

Bucky nodded. “I’ll meet you there.”

“See you in Diamond City.” Nick said, walking down the street into the dark by himself.

***

Somehow, he got there first. He knows that Nick has gone off by himself a million more times than Bucky has, so he waits in the Market for him. They go back to his detective agency, where Ellie is nowhere to be found. “Ellie? You here?” Nick asked, looking around.

She came from the back room and ran towards him. “Oh God, it’s really you!”

“Well, it’s hard to mistake this mug for anyone else,” Nick and Bucky chuckled at that.

“Hmph. You keep laughing at death, some day death’s going to laugh back,”

“Not as long as I got a few friends to back me up,” Nick said, gesturing towards Bucky., then going to sit at the table closest to the door. Ellie turned towards him. “You saved Nick, this agency and my job. Thank you,”

Bucky nodded. “Happy to do it,”

“Yeah? Go diving into scary prewar all the time then, do ya? Here. Every cap we agreed to for finding him. Plus a little something extra,” She gave him 125 bottle camps and a fedora and trench coat, to match Nick, as if he was his sidekick.

“Thank you, Ellie,”

“You know, if you’re looking for work, and don’t mind putting on the detective hat, Nick sure could use a new partner…” Nick chimed in from where he was sitting at the table. “Whoa. One case at a time, Ellie. Our new friend needs our help first. All right. Let’s get down to business. Take a seat. Make yourself comfortable,”

Bucky took the shield off his back and put it on the floor next to his seat. Nick nodded. “When you’re trying to find someone who’s gone missing, the devil is in the details. Tell me everything you can, no matter how...painful it might be,”

Bucky inhaled and exhaled deeply. “Okay. We were in a Vault when it happened. It was some kind of cryo facility,”

“You were on ice, huh? More importantly, you were underground. Sealed up. That’s a lot of obstacles to get through just to take one person. What else can you tell me?”

“He was...shot. He tried to get away from them, but the guy with the gun wouldn’t let him, so he got shot,” Bucky looked down at his hands. “And I couldn’t help him...”

“It’s okay. You don’t need to say anything more,” Ellie said.

“She’s right. So...we’re talking about a group of cold-blooded killers, but they waited until something went wrong to resort to violence. Anything else you remember?”

“There was three men and a woman. Two got S--my fiance. They didn’t say much, but I remember they called me ‘the backup’,”

“So we’re taking a small team. Professionals. The kind that know to keep their lips tight when they’re on the job. Not sure ‘the backup’ means though…Anything else?”

“We’re looking for my fiance. Why would anyone take hi--” Nick and Ellie looked at him, confused. “Oh my fucking God. They took him because he’s Captain America. I think they’ve made him into super, super soldier. Jesus fucking a, man,”

“He was Captain America? Are you serious?” Nick asked.

Bucky put his arms out to show him the suit. “They didn’t take his old uniform or the shield. So I did. But I fucked up. I couldn’t save Piper,”

Nick abruptly stood up. “What?!”

Bucky put his hands out. “She’s not dead! I couldn’t save her with the shield. Sorry,” Nick frowned at him, but sat down instead of checking on her. “I think this info is important, though: I think he was the shooter. I didn’t get a good look before he left. Although he threw the shield back harder than I threw it,”

Nick sighed. “Well, that confirms it. This isn’t a random kidnapping. Whoever took -- what’s his name?”

“Steve,”

Nick nodded, his face showing no judgement towards him whatsoever. “Well, whoever took him had an agenda. Hmm...There’s a lot of groups in the Commonwealth that take people, Raiders, Super Mutants, the Gunners, and of course, the Institute,”

“So you think these Institute fucks are responsible?”

“Well, they’re the boogeyman of the Commonwealth. Something goes wrong, everyone blames them. Easy to see why. Those early model synths of theirs strip whole towns for parts, killing everything in their way. Then you got the newer models, good as human, that infiltrate cities and pull strings from the shadows. Worst of all, no one knows why they do it, what their plan is, or where they are. Not even me, and I’m a synth myself. A discarded protype, anyway,”

“You’re a prototype?”

Nick nodded. “As far as I know. Never seen any other synth like myself. There’s the older ones that are dumb as rocks and all metal, then there’s the newer ones that are almost exactly human. I’m somewhere, as you can see,”

Bucky nodded and chuckled. “I won’t judge. But I do need to find Steve,”

“You’re right. This speculation is getting us off track. Let’s focus on what you saw. What did these kidnappers look like?”

“The one that came right up to me. Bald head, scar across his left eye,”

Nick sat up straighter, more alert. “Wait. It couldn’t be. You didn’t hear the name ‘Kellogg’, did you?”

Bucky sat up straight too. “Who is he? Do you think he has Steve?”

“Hmm...it’s way too big of a coincidence….” he looked behind his shoulder to talk to Ellie, who was writing all of this down on her clipboard. “Ellie, what notes do we have about the Kellogg case?”

“The description matches. Bald head. Scar. Reputation for dangerous mercenary work, but no one knows who is employer is,” she said. “And he bought a house here in town, right? And he had a big muscular guy with him, didn’t he?”

“You said he still lives here? He’s still in town?” Bucky asked, about to stand up and walk right out that door behind him.

“They vanished a while back, if I’m remember right, but that house is still there…” Nick got up from his chair, and so did Bucky, but too fast so he became dizzy. Let’s you and I walk over to Kellogg’s last known address. See if we can snoop out where he went.”

“Security doesn’t really go to that part of town, but you two should still be careful.” Ellie said. “I always am, Ellie…” Nick responded with.

When they got outside Piper’s sister ran up to Bucky. “Y’know Piper still wants to interview you for the paper. Bucky looked at Nick, to see if he could go do that real quick, and he nodded. Nat took his hand and they ran to Publick Occurrences. When they got inside, Piper was fixing one of her printers. “Hey. I want to thank you for helping me the other day,”

“I was glad to,” Bucky said. “The guy got away though, which sucks,”

“Well...glad you dropped by. You holdin’ up Blue?”

“Blue?”

“Because you’re a Vault Dweller? I know you’re not wearing the blue jumpsuit right now, but the Pip-Boy and that ‘fish out of water’ look? Dead giveaways. So here’s the deal: I want an interview. Your life story in print. I think it’s Diamond City had a little outside perspective on the Commonwealth. You do that, and...I’ll tell you what. I’ll come with you. Watch your back while you get used to the to the world above ground,”

Bucky nodded. “What kind of interview?”

“I ask you who you are, get your opinion on life out here, and maybe load up tough questions and keep it interesting. What do you say?”

“All right,”

Piper gave him a thumbs-up. “Good. Let’s get down to business. So I know you’re from a Vault. How would you describe your time on the inside?”

“Me and my fiance were frozen. I didn’t spend much time in there,”

“Wait. They boxed you up in a fridge? The whole time? Are you saying you were alive before the War?”

“I’ve been in all of them. So which one?”

“The one that gave us this lovely landscape of demolished buildings and nuclear radiation ever ten feet? You’re telling me you saw everything before they blasted it into pieces?”

“Yep. I was frozen for over 200 years,”

“Oh my God. Holy shit. ‘The Man Out of Time’. So. You’ve seen the Commonwealth. Diamond City. How does it compare to your old life?”

“Can you even compare the two? The world out here? It’s not even close to the one I left,”

“Feeling a little homesick, are we? Can’t say I blame you. Now, I already know you’re looking for your fiance? Oh yeah, does this person have a name?”

“Steve,”

Piper nodded. “I’m sure he’d be really happy to see you. Anyway, do you suspect the Institute was involved in the kidnapping?”

“What the fuck is up with all this Institute shit?”

“Ah. I see you’ve heard people talking about it...that, Blue, is the biggest mystery in the Commonwealth. No one really knows who or where they are, but their handiwork is all over,”

“Yeah, I got _that_ ,” Bucky said, crossing his arms against his chest.

"Well, the synths are the Institute’s dirty work. Some synths replace actual people. No one would ever suspect. It’s all in the paper. Did Nat give you one?”

“Yeah. Didn’t get the chance do read it,”

“Now, not everything that goes wrong has the Institute behind it, but there’s always a chance. That’s why I’m asking,”

Bucky shrugged. “Sure sounds like they might be,”

Piper nodded. “Not even a Vault dweller is safe from them. And people wonder why I can’t just look the other way. For the last part of the interview, I’d like to do something different. I want you to make a statement to Diamond City directly. The threat of kidnapping is all but ignored in the Commonwealth. Everyone wants to pretend it doesn’t happen. What would you say to someone out there who’s lost a loved one, but might be too scared, or too numb to the world, to look for them?”

Bucky breathed deeply. “No matter how much you want to give up, don’t. You have to have hope. That you’ll see them again. Or at least, that you’ll know the truth.”

“A strong note to end on, Blue. Thanks. That’s everything. It’s gonna take some time to put this all together, but I think your story is going to give Diamond City plenty to talk about. Look, about Steve. I didn’t know if you were on the up-and-up before, didn’t want to waste my friend’s time, but I think he can help yo--” Piper said.

“Nick? Already got him out of that Vault?”

“No shit? You’re crazy, Blue. Glad he’s agreed to help you. Good luck! And thank you!”

Kellogg’s house was in the west stands, in the dark. And Nick was waiting for him in front of the door. When Bucky walked up, he started talking again. “I don’t want Ellie to hear this, but I think you should know. Everything I dug up about Kellogg before his disappearance is bad news. He’s more than just a mercenary. He’s a professional. Quick, clean, thorough. Has no enemies, because they’re all dead. Except _you_. But nine to one odds says he’s our man. It’s more than just you identifying his distinguishing features.The MO is all him as well. Leading a small team to capture a super-soldier and leaving the loved one alive for later? Not many mercs in the Commonwealth can pull that off,” He tapped the door, showing Bucky that it’s locked. Here we are. Keep an eye out, will ya? Let’s see if I can get this open,”

Bucky still thinks his metal hand is so cool. He doesn’t think Nick saw it yet, but if he did, he didn’t comment. “That’s one heck of a lock...got something to hide, Kellogg?” he looked at Bucky. “Why don’t you give it a try?” He tried, and didn’t get anywhere. “No luck? Guess we’ll need to find the key,” he pointed at a platform that looked like a window washer elevator. “You see that platform in the distance? Near the city entrance? That’s the elevator to the Mayor’s office. Why don’t you go ask around there?”

He got up there, he saw Piper having an argument with the secretary. “Why doesn’t the Mayor come out of office, huh? He afraid of talking to the press? I bet if I said I was with the Institute, he’d come running…”

The woman, Geneva, had short blonde hair with bangs and was wearing a blouse with regular pants. “You ever think maybe you could get a man’s attention easier if you used softer words, honey? Maybe shout a little less?”

“Ah, that reminds me of this article I’m writing about the mayor’s affair with a certain _air-headed blonde_ …” _Oh my God, Piper, you just destroyed her_. Piper saw him. “What brings you to the mayor’s office?”

“What are _you_ doing here, Piper?”

 “Trying to find out why the Mayor happens to be meeting with the same suspicious-looking courier every other week. Not from any settlement _I’ve_ heard of. Not from a caravan, either. Always in and out before anyone has a chance to talk to him. An errand boy from the Institute maybe? After this article comes out, that’s what everyone’s going to be asking,”

“If you are _done_ crowding the reception area, Miss Piper, the Mayor needs to make time for more...responsible citizens,”

Piper scoffed. “Hmph. I was just leaving anyway. Never thought a reporter could consider themselves a success until someone’d threatened their life. Me? I’m very successful.” Piper then stormed out to a regular elevator on the other side of the room.

Bucky was able to charm Geneva to get the key to Kellogg’s house. He’s always been good at that, no matter who. He ran back to Kellogg’s house with the key. “Got the key? All right. Let’s head in. You do the honors.” Nick said.

Bucky unlocked the door and they both went in. The was a table with tools on top in the front next to the flight of stairs. Up the stairs was his small bed, and a sleeping bag on the floor. Maybe for Steve? He is bigger than that small mattress. On the table next to it was two tables with kitchenware, and...a pair of handcuffs? “What the fuck…” Bucky said to himself.

From the first floor Nick said, “Place seem small to you? Figured a guy like Kellogg would think big…”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Bucky called down. When he walked back downstairs, he noticed a red button underneath the table. It opened a wall across the room.

“Well...that’s one way to hide a room,” Nick said.

“Yeah what the hell?” Bucky said.

In the middle of the room was a comfy chair with one small table on the left of the chair, and an ammo box on the right. And there were two big shelves filled with the jackpot of items for his travels. There was Nuka-Colas, Gwinnett Stout Beer, San Francisco Sunlight cigars, Stimpaks, ammo, purified water and random food. Even Fusion Cores, too. In the ashtray was a still burning cigar. “Look at all this. All of a merc’s favorite things…” Nick said, checking around the room. “‘San Francisco Sunlights’ cigars. Interesting brand. Won’t lead us anywhere on it’s own, though,”

“Any ideas?” Bucky asked, turning back around from looting the shelves.

“Hmm...what about Dogmeat?”

“Dogmeat?”

“The dog that’s been travelling with you?”

“That’s his name?” Bucky asked.

“Yep. A Commonwealth dog like him can track a man’s scent for miles,”

Bucky nodded. “Any wise words?”

“If Kellogg really is the one who kidnapped your fiance, then he’s dangerous, but so are you. You don’t need to be afraid of him, or anything else the Commonwealth throws at you,”

“Come with us, Nick,”

“All right. Let’s get that bastard. This is your show from here on out, okay? You say jump, I’ll ask how high.”

When they went back inside, Nick whistled, but too high for Bucky to hear. In under a minute, Dogmeat showed up, with a smile. Bucky kneeled down to let him smell the cigar. “Get the scent, boy,” Dogmeat barked happily. Bucky turned to Nick and said, “Let’s go get that fucker.” Nick nodded and then they were on their way out of Diamond City and to start another quest for Steve. One quest closer to Steve.


	11. Fort Hagen

Up the street in front of Diamond City was their first clue to find Kellogg. Next to a tiny pond was boxes and an overturned chair with an ashtray and another San Francisco Sunlight cigar, still burning. He gave Dogmeat the scent and they went off up the street, and turning right onto a new set of train tracks going west. When they passed a skeleton of some animal, five mole rats came up out of the ground and were glowing green because of the radiation. He, Nick, and Dogmeat took them out relatively quickly, since the mole rats would escape through the ground.

Dogmeat then led them down some steps into a tunnel. There were wrecked cars and big tires and turrets. The next clue was a bloody bandage. He picked up a stick to lift it up and let Dogmeat catch Kellogg’s scent some more. “What do you think, boy? Enough to go on?” Bucky asked. Dogmeat made an alert bark, smiled, and led them up the stairs on the other side. There was a dead Raider in the doorway that was bloodier than usual. He couldn’t guess if it was Kellogg’s blood or the Raider’s.

They returned to the train tracks, but ran into wild mongrels, that jump around just as fast as the mole rats did. They continued forward into thicker trees, some fallen over. Then, to their right, a giant ass dark pink bear came out of the woods. “What the fuck is that thing?” Bucky asked.

“Yao Guai.” Nick said, running towards it. Bucky whistled at Dogmeat to get behind him, because that bear would completely slaughter him. The bear jumped at Bucky, causing him to fall on his back. Dogmeat still stayed away instead of being crushed by Bucky. Nick kept shooting, while the bear was snapping at him from over the edge of the shield. Bucky managed his hand over the shield and shot the thing, but it wouldn’t budge. Bucky managed to completely throw him off, and hit it with the shield. Nick finished it off, and Bucky exhaled deeply, thanking Nick. He whistled for Dogmeat to continue on their way.

They passed some wrecked train cars into the warehouse and down some stairs. They came out of the side of another tunnel. There was a sleeping bag next to a tire, that was used presumably as a pillow. On the rubble were big, complete cars that were wrecked. At the end was a chair next to a broken pillar. It had a drinking glass and a Gwinnett Stout Beer bottle. “Gwinnett Stout. One of his creature comforts.” Bucky said. He let Dogmeat smell it and they ran towards a bridge with one car about to fall into the water below. Between two big shipping trucks was a ghoul laying in a bush. Dogmeat got to it first. There was another ghoul hiding behind the truck and bridge rail, that Dogmeat ran away from. Behind the other shipping truck, at the end of the bridge, were four more, ready to attack.

By the time he got back there, they had surrounded Dogmeat. Bucky gasped, and yelled, “HEY!” They stopped attacking him, and ran towards Bucky and Nick. Both were ready to kill. Bucky even shielded Nick during it at one point. When they were done with, Bucky ran over to Dogmeat to see if he was okay. Bucky gave him a Stimpak, then pointed at him. Dogmeat was still smiling and panting. He watched Bucky’s finger. “Bad dog. You scared me half to death, man.” Dogmeat licked his face to signal he was all right, and Bucky told Nick to follow.

They continued west up a hill with tons of junk. Two Protectrons were destroyed. A shopping cart was on top of a crate of ammo and the corpse of a trader. “Damn. Hell of a party happened here.” Nick said.

“You’re telling me, huh?” Bucky responded, looking around.

On a box further up was the top half of an Assaultron that was sending out sparks. “ _...known mercenary...exercise extr…_ ” Bucky looked closer at it. The head was specifically placed on top. Kellogg was starting to give him easier clues, it seemed. “What happened here?” Bucky asked. “ _Error. System corrupt. I can’t feel my legs_.”

Behind him, he saw an EyeBot floating around. “ _Attention, please! Employment opportunities await at Cambridge Polymer Labs. Competitive salary and benefits. Apply today!_ ” Bucky and Nick looked at each other, then watched it float off up the hill, repeating his message. “ _Cambridge Polymer Labs: the global leader in the exciting field of commercial plastics. Now hiring! Apply today!_ ”

Next to the Assaultron head was a San Francisco Sunlight cigar. He gave it to Dogmeat, and they continued up the hill. Dogmeat took them towards the EyeBot on the right, and kept going even when the EyeBot changed directions. Instead of staying on solid ground, Dogmeat brought them up a steep hill that was dark and muddy. They went up three more hills to a broken fence. On the part that was bent was another bloody bandage, but this time it was completely red and soaking wet. He pointed at it, instead of actually picking it up, and Dogmeat gave him an alert bark. The next hill brought them to a street with buildings on the one side. There was another small dirty pond in the middle of the street, and giant flies started coming at them. Bucky asked Nick what they were.

“Bloatflies.”

“Do the giant mosquitoes also have a special name?”

“Bloodbugs.”

“Okay, well then. That shit makes sense.” The flies were big, but no match for them, including Dogmeat. The Bloodbugs (he’s gotta remember that one) were a whole other problem; although they were big, but they were slim and fast. The fastest enemy he’s encountered yet.

They go up to the next big building: Fort Hagen. Dogmeat took them to the top of the stairs, but the front door was barricaded. “Why the fuck does he have to make this so hard?” Bucky asked, kicking the barricade made of sandbags.

“I think he’s afraid to die.” Nick answered.

“Well…” Bucky looked at Dogmeat. “Is his bitch ass in there boy?” Dogmeat gave him a playful bark.

“I knew Dogmeat would sniff our man out. Let’s you and I take it from here. Give our four-legged friend a break.” Bucky nodded, and sent Dogmeat back to Sanctuary Hills to hang out with Codsworth. After watching Dogmeat leave until he was out of sight, the two men went back around the building. The was a wooden construction ramp to the roof, but Bucky’s head almost got shot off by one of the turrets. “Of fucking course they wouldn’t be friendly.” Bucky said, taking his shield off his back and continued upward. There was five turrets in total surrounding the roof.

After exploring the roof, they went down to the parking garage. Between the wall and a big shipping crate was a bed, cabinets with shelving, chemistry station, a table with a first aid kit, and a dead settler. It didn’t look like anyone killed her; more like she overdosed on the jet that was left on the table next to her.

The next room had a blue door with a light over it, as if Kellogg was signaling them to this specific entrance. When he walked up the first two-and-a-half flight of stairs, he heard footsteps above them. Right across from the top step was a Protectron in the corner next to a locked terminal (the word was “wall”) and Nick applauded him for that. When the Protectron walked out of his pod, his footsteps were loud enough to alert the synths nearby.

“Oh fuck.” Bucky said, putting the shield in front of him and crouching and Nick next to him, almost in-sync. The synths that spotted all three of them were in another room with holes in the wall. Some were completely metal, looking like stick figures. You could see right through them. Others were filled in like a regular human and reminded him of a mannequin. The people who said there was three versions of synths weren’t exactly wrong. He’d like to actually see a Gen 3. If they can actually replace people, then they’re ten times better than the ones that are barely anything. What if Steve was made into a synth and they got rid of the real one? He wouldn’t even know Bucky. And wouldn’t care if he killed Bucky. But he knows that Steve isn’t a synth. If he was, he wouldn’t had shot him. He would’ve actually came over and fought him right in front of Piper and five other Diamond City security guards. But a synth couldn’t get into Bucky’s mind. So they did something to Steve, but he’s not a synth. He’s a complete human.

Valentine nudged him to get him out of his own head. Bucky stood up and hid behind a pillar, then threw the shield on the ground, which bounced off the floor into the two closest synths. The other was still in that room with holes in the wall. He crouched and ran to the downed synths, dodging electric bullets. He picked up a big white and dark red rifle; his best weapon yet (besides the shield). He got the other one almost immediately after, and continued on. Two more came in, with the same weapons. Bucky quickly learned that these ‘bullets’ couldn’t be ricocheted back. Then the shooting suddenly stopped.

The Protectron finally caught up and did something for once. And he couldn’t believe the thing wasn’t destroyed yet. He went to another room and started to get shot at through holes in the walls again. They had remarkably good aim, for sticks of metal. The door to the room they were in was chained on the other side, so he was forced to go up a floor. At the top was a live turret waiting for him. He hit it with the shield, even though those things blow up as loudly every time.

A synth was on the right of the door, shooting next to a water fountain. Funny that workers would stand over here and chat and now there’s a gun fight going on here 210 years later.

At the end of the next room was a turret in an office, the windows blasted out. The hole in the wall over there led to a bigger office with cabinets, shelves, a couch, a cooking station in the middle and a big desk. When Bucky saw the wall safe, he ran for it. In it was a load of different kinds of ammo, a gold watch, and pre-war money. Going through the other hole in the wall made him pass the skeleton of the person’s secretary. The end of the hallway brought him back to the top of the stairs. He found a bathroom on the other side, though. A locked first aid kit had purified water, RadAway and a Stimpak. The only choice he had after that was to jump down through a hole in the floor which took him to the room with the chained door. There was a terminal on the wall, hiding him from the turret (the word was “adopted”). The terminal shut off the turret and opened the gated closet that had ammo and health items. The next choice he had to make was to call the elevator to take him down further to Kellogg. To kick his fucking ass.

***

The elevator brought them down into a dark hallway with red lights and big pipes in the side of the wall. And the end was a thin synth standing in front of a turret. He walked forward, closer to a laundry cart, activating a Tesla arc. He jumped into a room on the left that was filled with pipe, small containers, wooden boxes, a generator. After the arc stopped hitting him with electricity, he leaned out the door to look towards the synth. He didn’t see it, but he got rid of the turret with the shield. The shield didn’t come back. Another synth, that looked like a mannequin came out holding the shield in front of him.

“Oh, fuck me,” Bucky said, looking around for Nick. Nick was crouching behind a cart down the hallway near the elevator. “Nick!” Bucky yelled, poking his head out, looking both ways. “The shield!” Bucky gestured to his head, then pointed in the direction of the synth with his shield. Nick nodded, and stood up, shooting the synth in the head, and Bucky shooting it in the legs, making the thing drop the shield.

Bucky sighed deeply, picked up the shield, and gave Nick a quiet ‘thanks’. The next room where the two synths and the turret were was filled with metal shelves with big metal boxes on it, and wooden boxes around the room, too. The was a metal desk with a fan on it, a trash can and traffic cone next to it. Behind it was a flight of stairs leading down, closer to Kellogg.

Down the stairs, around a corner, through a metal door frame was another metal desk with a chair, coffee cup, a typewriter, two pulse grenades, a first aid kit on the wall, a locked ammo box, a cabinet and shelves behind it and next to a Vault-Tec calendar. On the other side was broken and ravaged lockers.

“ _Well, now if it wasn’t my old friend, the frozen TV dinner_ ,” Kellogg’s voice ran through the speakers above him. “ _Last time we met, you were cozying up to the peas and apple cobbler_.”

“What the fuck?” Bucky said, even though Kellogg wouldn’t be listening, to answer him. He went down the next flight of stairs, past an empty cigarette machine, and ran into a turret that was placed right around the corner. At the end of the hallway was a door to the Fort Hagen Command center. “ _Sorry your house has been a wreck for 200 years. But I don’t need a roommate. Leave._ ” Bucky went through the blue double-doors. On the wall were tables with buttons and small screens. “ _I never expected for you to come knocking on my door. Gave you 50-50 odds of making it to Diamond City. After that, figured the Commonwealth would chew you up like jerky_.”

He continued down the stairs to a hallway with panels on the right and windows with a gated metal door, part of the ceiling fell. Then, the stick-like version of a synth ran towards him with a shock baton, still thinking it and Kellogg would stop trying to kill a man with a shield, and his half-human, half-synth friend. _Friend_. That’s the second time Bucky’s thought of anyone as a friend after getting out of the Vault. Dogmeat was the first.

Two more synths ran towards them, one a stick, the other a mannequin, shooting blue lasers out of their rifles. He could hear a turret turning off in another hallway. He looked through the windows that were on the left. He could see desks and cubicles and something lurking in between them. At the very opposite of the hallway was a big metal door that could only be opened with a terminal. So his next option was to go right through double-doors, which led to a blue hallway with random lights on the left. “ _Look, you’re pissed off, I get it_ ,”

“You don’t even fucking know, pal,” Bucky responded.

“ _I get it. I do. But whatever you hope to accomplish in here…_ ” Kellogg scoffed, and Bucky wanted to slam his metal fist through the concrete wall. “ _It’s not gonna go your way._ ”

“Yes, it is, you motherfucker.” Bucky said. The room they walked into while Kellogg spoke again was a room with four bunk beds, footlockers underneath each one, and a terminal on the wall. From there was a locker room, and a gated closet with ammo and a first aid kit. Bucky went back into the main hallway, and there was a laser turret on the ceiling in front of the top of the stairway. A mannequin-like synth came around the corner towards them, shooting. Another one was waiting around the corner at the end of the stairs. This version looked like a Grade-B type version of Nick.

A room next to him was filled with desks and chairs, with no good loot inside. The next room had a generator with a Fusion Core in it. The room behind that had an ammo box and nothing else, so Bucky went back into the main hallway and heard a turret firing. The turret was on the ceiling, which was more than a waste of time getting rid of it. There were two more rooms, one of the left with cracked windows, and the other closed with blue double-doors.

By the stairs was a opened door that had a dirt hill going downwards. At the bottom was a skeleton holding a Nuka-Cola Quantum, and a toolbox with bobby pins and the ‘Fort Hagen Armory Password’. Nick was in a room that looked like a breakroom; there were tables and chairs, counters and cabinets, a small kitchen; food and dishes and boxes strewn around. In the back was an Energy Weapons bobblehead. He and Nick continued down the stairs and forward through a dark hallway, only lit with red lights.

“This isn’t gonna be good.” Bucky said.

“You don’t say?” Nick responded from behind him. Bucky laughed and hit Nick in the arm. They continued forward, but stopped when Kellogg spoke again. “ _You’ve got guts and determination, and that’s admirable. But you are in over your head in ways you can’t possibly comprehend._ ” Then two synths ran around the corner towards them. Bucky keeps forgetting that energy cells don’t ricochet, so he had to physically fight them. On a cart was a first aid kit.

The next hallway went to a flight of stairs that was lit with blue light. “ _It’s not too late. Stop. Turn around and leave. You have that option. Not a lot of people can say that._ ” In the room at the top of the stairs was nothing but rubble and a turret on the ceiling. “I fucking hate those things.” Bucky said.

“Out of all things in Commonwealth? You hate turrets the most? How have you survived?”

“Alright, listen here jacka--” Bucky began, but a ceiling laser turret starting shooting at them, so they moved out of sight. The next room had two mattresses put together, two dressers, a counter and ceiling cabinets, a couch and a TV. The next door led to a bathroom, the toilet seat broken, a locked first aid kit on the wall across from the sink and mirror next to a shower. When they walked back out Bucky saw a locked terminal (the word was “while”). “Of fucking course it was to turn off the turret. Goddammit.” Bucky said, then continued forward down the hallway where the turret was.

On the right was an office, a bed next to a desk, and a bed on the other side of the wall next to a dresser. Through another door was a laundry room with nothing significant in it besides a bobby pin box and a first aid kit. They walked back out to the main room, which looked like a waiting room of some sort. Through the next door was items that were white and cleaner than any other thing he’s seen in the Commonwealth. There were white tables, chairs and even a bed. Hell, even the first aid kits looked different. There was purified water on the desk on the right. On the left side of the room was a fallen shelf, cardboard boxes and a dirty blue seat.

“You seein’ this, Nick?” Bucky asked, still looking around.

“Yeah. I think this must be the Institute’s work. They’re nowhere to be seen. Must be why they’re so clean.” Nick responded. There was a red ammo box, which looked nothing close to the regular tall green ones. Bucky walked closer to the metal door that can’t be opened with a bobby pin or terminal.

“ _Okay, you made it. I’m just up ahead. My synths are standing down. Let’s talk._ ” Kellogg’s voice said. And with that, the door opened. Bucky looked at Nick who nodded back. Bucky put his shield back in front of him and walked forward, with his gun up. They had to walk down a hallway to s short flight of stairs. Another metal door opened, but he couldn’t see Kellogg.

“You fucker,” Bucky said.

“Yeah, yeah. Calm down. Just wanna talk, man,” Kellogg said, walking around the corner of a cubicle, his hands up in front of him. “And there he his. The most resilient man in the Commonwealth. Funny, I thought I thought _I_ had that honor,” Bucky looked around. Kellogg’s mannequin-type synths were standing down, not even holding their rifles. Bucky put the shield on his back. He walked to Kellogg, almost getting in his face. “You came a long way. Let’s hear it,” Kellogg said.

“End of the line, Kellogg. You die, and I get Steve back,”

Kellogg chuckled. “You can turn around right now. Go back the way you came. Steve? Besides being a bit...different than you were expecting...I’m afraid he’s not even here. So you see? It _is_ the end of the line. But not the way you imagined,”

“Then you’re going to take me to him. Right fucking now, Kellogg,” Bucky said, aiming his gun at Kellogg’s head.

“Take you to him?” Kellogg laughed sinisterly. “Like I could, even if I wanted to. Don’t you get it? Your... _Steve_ , he’s in a place nobody can reach. He’s safe at home. In the Institute,”

Bucky put his gun down, but walked closer to Kellogg, ready to punch his face in. “What the FUCK is the “Institute”? I’ll find him no matter where he is,”

“Ha! That’s the spirit. You know, you surprise me, I have to admit. I find myself actually kind of...liking you. I admire your dedication to...brotherhood? I don’t know what the fuck your relationship status is with him. Even if it is ultimately useless,”

“WHERE THE FUCK IS HE, YOU FUCK?”

“Hmph. Pal, I’m just a puppet like you. My stage is just a little bigger, that’s all. Steve’s a good...asset I guess you could call him. But he’s doing great. Only...he’s not here. He’s with the people pulling the strings,”

“Goddamn it, you mercenary motherfucker. Where. Is. Steve?!”

“What’s the cliche? ‘So close, but yet so far away?’ That’s Steve. But don’t worry. You’ll die knowing he’s safe, and...okay, I guess you could say. But his new home is the Institute,”

Bucky was about to punch this motherfucker in the throat with his metal fist instead of the flesh and bone one. “So where is it? Huh? This ‘Institute’? How the fuck do I get there?”

Kellogg looked at him, done with Bucky and his questions. “Heh. Haven’t you been paying attention? You don’t _find_ the Institute. The Institute finds _you_. You open the closet, it’s just a closet. You can never find the monster that hides inside. Not until it jumps out at you,”

“You motherfucker; murdering, kidnapping psychopath. Give him back. Now, you fuck!”

Kellogg shrugged. “Steve’s different now, as you might’ve guessed. But if you’re hoping for a happy reunion? Ain’t gonna happen, pal. He’s not fucking here, smart one,”

“If I have to ask you one more fucking time, I’ll hurt you. Then I’ll kill you. In ways even you can’t comprehend,”

“Bet. The wasteland is nothing compared to your old life. Try fucking again,” Kellogg sighed, completely done with Bucky; close to ending this conversation and shooting him in the head. “ _Fine_. I guess you’ve earned that much, he’s still in the Institute, like I’ve said a million fucking times before,”

Bucky was starting to grinding his teeth; he couldn’t wait to fuck this fucker up. “I’ll find him, no matter where he is. Nothing will stop me,”

"God, you’re persistent. I give you credit. It’s the way a lover should act. The way I’d be acting if I was in your place, I like to think. Even if it _is_ useless.”

“You took Steve...and I’m gonna give a large guess of you tortured him. Or you still are. You’re fucking dead, Kellogg,”

Kellogg shook his head and sighed. He put his arms out, gesturing at everything around them. “This world, this life? You’ve seen enough of it already. Pain, suffering. Death is it’s only escape. But don’t worry. He’s fine, hmm? But he ain’t fuckin’ here,”

“Fuck. You, Kellogg,”

“Let him go. Your time’s done. Your bosom Steve is exactly where he belongs,”

Bucky aimed his gun at Kellogg’s head again, but could hear the synths cocking their guns around him. He’s completely surrounded. _Fucker_. “I’ve come so far to get him, and you’re fucking me,”

“Yes, you have," Kellogg said, pushing Bucky’s gun towards the floor. “And, believe it or not...I’m actually kind of sorry you wasted your time. In another life, I’m sure you and him would be happy together. But here...in this terrible reality? You just don’t get that chance,” he checked the barrel of his pistol, the same exact one he threatened and shot Steve with. He sighed. “But I think we’ve been talking enough. We both know how this has to end. So...you ready?”

Bucky put his gun up, and prepared himself to grab the shield the second Kellogg and synths attack he and Nick. “In a hundred years, when I finally die, I can only hope I go to Hell so I can kill you all over again, you piece of shit.” Kellogg was the first to shoot, then not even a second later the synths joined in the gunfight. He pushed Nick to stand behind him and the shield. Nick went after the synths, and he went after Kellogg.

He couldn’t find him, but saw an almost transparent body moving around. He had used a Stealth Boy. Fortunately, Bucky was the best at seeing hidden enemies. Not even Steve, with his advanced eyesight could figure it out as quickly. He tackled Kellogg and punched him in the face with his metal hand, then killed the fuck in one shot. Then he helped Nick with the remaining synths. He put the shield on his back and went back to look at Kellogg’s corpse and see if he had any good loot. He had his customized pistol, his customized armor, ammo including grenades, a Stealth Boy, ‘Kellogg’s Terminal Password’, and some weird thing called a ‘Cybernetic Brain Augmenter’.

On a semi-circle of clean white desks was a clean, white terminal that he’s never seen before. Must be more Institute tech. Next to the terminal was in an issue of "RobCo Fun", that had the _Pip-Fall_ holotape game. Kellogg’s password had 12 characters in it.

“What are you hiding, Kellogg?” There were two options:

     [View Access Logs]

     [ > Security Door Control]

Bucky opened the doors, then looked at the Kellogg’s notes:

_ACCESS LOG_

_Access: Local. Login: Kellogg._

_Notes: The man, Steve, was successfully delivered back to the Institute, payment received. New orders to track down the renegade, gathered reinforcements, clear out and secured Fort Hagen. We move out soon._

Bucky walked over to Nick who was also looking around. “Hey, Valentine,” He turned around to face Bucky. “We know where Steve is, but even I don’t know to find the Institute, and they built me,”

“You don’t know anything, Nick?”

“Look at me. I’m trash. They threw me in the junk pile ages ago. Just another discarded prototype. Didn’t exactly leave me the house keys,” Nick sighed deeply. “We’re in the weeds here. Time to take a step back. Bring in some fresh eyes. Only person I know willing to snoop up the Institute’s tail feathers is Piper, the reporter in Diamond City. I say we head her way and talk this through,”

“How could Piper help us?”

“Trust me. That dame knows a lot more than she lets on, and she lets on a lot. I know her. She’s done her homework and we need to talk this through with someone,”

Bucky nodded. “Diamond City it is.”

“Hey. Chin up. I know the night just darker, but it won’t last forever.” The two of them walked through the security gates and went down the hallway from before and took the elevator up to the roof. It let to a hallway where another security door had be unlocked with a terminal. When they got outside they saw Vertibirds flying forward towards the southeast, and a giant metal blimp following.

Through a giant static cone mic, a deep voice rumbled, “ _People of the Commonwealth. Do not interfere. Our intentions are peaceful. We are the Brotherhood of Steel._ ”

From behind him Nick spoke, watching the blimp fly forwards. “Flying that ship into the heart of the Commonwealth. Mark my words, the Brotherhood’s here to start a war,”

“I feel like I’ve seen them before. I don’t know where, though,” Bucky said, looking between the blimp and Nick.

“They’re bad news. Not so bad in the west, but more have strayed from the first version. I wouldn’t trust them, if I were you,”

“Why?”

“Their ideals. They take everything for themselves. Tech, resources. They also like to wipe out whoever gets in front of them,” Nick looked at the horizon where the blimp went towards, then shrugged at Bucky. “I’ll bet they’re here to destroy the Institute. Anything that’s not human is considered disgusting towards them. I wonder what’d they say about me.”

“We’ll have to see,” Bucky said. “I have a bad feeling about them already.”

***

They decided to go their own ways, if only for a little bit. Nick went back to Diamond City, and Bucky to Sanctuary Hills. He did his best to avoid Preston, since he didn’t want to do another of his dumb quests. Or anyone else, for that matter. He met up with Dogmeat, and rested up in his old home, Codsworth still floating around to clean something. Bucky gave him a quiet ‘hey’ towards Codsworth, and went into the bedroom. He put the shield next to the side table, and took off his suit, asking Codsworth to clean it, who happily obliged. He must have the worst B.O. by now. But then again, most everyone does now.

Bucky locked the bedroom door so no one would try to disturb him. He laid down in his usual spot, Dogmeat taking Steve’s. Unfortunately, his mind didn’t clear when he passed out.

Bucky wasn’t in that horrible dark room, strapped down on that cold metal table. Instead, he was standing on the train tracks from which he fell from which seemed like a thousand years ago. He wasn’t tied down to the tracks either like in those TV shows. If he was, no one could save him. Not even Steve. Bucky _never_ believed that you could die in a dream. Even though every time, he came close to. If he got hit by a train right now, nothing would happen. He wouldn’t wake up startled or screaming, or anything similar to that.

Bucky realized he was in the Captain America suit, the shield on his back. Next to him was Dogmeat, smiling as always. He loved that dog to death. He was Bucky’s new sun in this world. Even though he still had Codsworth and nine new friends. Each of them made him happy and helped him adjust, but this dog and Codsworth were his closest friends. Dogmeat was sticking his tongue out catching the snow falling from the dark clouds above, where a tiny speck of sun shone through, just like last time. Bucky did the same thing for a moment, smiled back at Dogmeat, then looked around. The sound around them was the almost completely silence that came with snow and the cold. Bucky didn’t have any weapons but the shield, but he left it on his back, since there was nothing around them. He was still prepared, though.

The brown metal of the train tracks couldn’t be seen under the snow. Neither could any of the small bushes and grass. The pine trees looked like they always did in winter: completely covered but the green was still able to be seen. The mountains were a cold white blue, looking like Mount Olympus. He looked up as far as he could, then looked down off the cliff. Steve could be anywhere here. Bucky knows this. A peaceful dream like this always has a catch. And that’s Steve. And it’s doubtful that it’s pre-war Steve.

They walked slowly, taking in the scenery, since Bucky knew that it was going to be ruined soon. He’s never really liked snow, since the smaller, sicker version of Steve wasn’t able to go outside like the other kids. He did like the dark clouds that are looming over them right now, though. Besides summer rain, it was summer weather that he liked most. That’s when Steve couldn’t possibly get sick. Also, Steve’s birthday is in the summer. They had even more time to be together as kids then. But then they grew up, and things got more difficult. The United States of America they knew was split, their country took over Mexico for their resources, had a war in the Middle East for oil as well, annexed Canada while the American troops took over Alaska and fought the Chinese. New tech came with it, but at what price? But then, the Great War came, that lasted only almost two hours, and the whole world was destroyed. _Their_ whole world. Even though it was new, he and Steve couldn’t come out of that Vault together. But luckily Bucky has Codsworth, Dogmeat, Preston and Company, Nick and Piper. And, the burden of having his Minutemen. _That he can’t protect forever._

The faster he gets to Steve, and/or the Institute, everything will be safer. He doesn’t know what the Brotherhood is up to, though. That’s a whole other roadblock for him. An entire army of a roadblock. He wonders if he can talk to Steve like an actual person, instead of a one-sided conversation where Bucky couldn’t do anything about it.

He thought he heard something, so he and Dogmeat stopped, the shield in front of both of them. They forwarded around a bend, and there he was. Steve standing there, but in regular clothes, unlike last time. Mirroring Bucky, clothes-wise. He had no shield or a Dogmeat. He looked nothing like last time. He looked like his regular, perfect Steve. Bucky still didn’t trust him enough to put the shield on his back. Steve may have fast reflexes, about the same as Bucky, but Steve could have hidden weapons. Who knows if he’s gotten better reflexes since he was taken from the Vault.

“What do you want?” Bucky said. He kept the shield in his hand, no longer in front of him. That was Dogmeat’s clue that he didn’t have to stand behind him anymore. But he knew he shouldn’t go greet Steve. If it even was _Steve_.

“What do _you_ want?” Steve replied.

“I want you _back_ , dumbass,” Bucky said. He frowned. “But we both know that’s not going to happen, huh?”

“You never know,” Steve said, taking a step forward, Bucky and Dogmeat taking a step backward. Bucky quickly looked over his shoulder. He was nowhere near falling off a cliff again. The only thing that could hurt him was Steve. “Depends on what you do,”

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“You’ve killed Kellogg. That’s a step forward, at least,”

Bucky looked at him closer. Nothing had changed. He wasn’t morphing into anything evil. Only Steve’s voice started to change, bit by bit. “So you’re with the Institute, huh?”

“No,”

“You’re lying. You’re the worst liar in the world,”

“No. Seriously,”

“Then where the fuck are you?”

Peggy and the Howling Commandos walked into view. “I’m _dead_ , stupid,”

Bucky put the shield in front him, Dogmeat snarled but still got behind him, peeking out through Bucky’s legs. “No you’re not,”

“Yeah, you just think about that one. The only one of us that isn’t is you. And Codsworth, of course,”

“Steven Grant Rogers, you shut the fuck up right now. You’re NOT FUCKING DEAD!”

“Whatever you say…” Steve said, turning around, putting his arm around Peggy’s back and all of them started to walk away. Bucky yelled and threw the shield. Automatically, faster than the human eye could see, Steve turned around and caught it. Bucky was right. Steve did have a weapon, and so did his friends.

“Oh fuck me,” Bucky said.

“That’s true,” Steve said.

Bucky clapped and opened his arms for Dogmeat to jump up, and he managed to climb a tree that was leaning over the side of a cliff. They managed to get far enough from where they could get shot, but close enough to fall. If they do, Bucky could never forgive himself, seeing Dogmeat hurt and the two of them not waking up fast enough.

The shooting stopped, and Bucky peeked around the tree. “IS THAT PIPER GIRL DEAD? OR DID I FUCK UP?”

Bucky _knew_ that was Steve that shot Piper days ago. “YOU FUCKED UP, DUMBASS!” There was a silence, but Bucky could hear Steve talking to the others quietly, to where Bucky couldn’t hear their conversation. Then it was completely silent. Even the snow and the cold air stopped. He thought he heard a tree branch creak, but when he looked back, nothing was there. He and Dogmeat looked at each other, both confused. Then, Steve caught up with them. With no remorse or any emotion of his face, he pushed Dogmeat off the branch, and forced Bucky to watch it.

“You motherfu--” Bucky began, but Steve started choking him. After a while, before he completely stopped breathing, Steve stopped. “I love you, but you’re fucking dead.” Before Bucky could answer, Steve hit him with the shield, making him fall off into the crevasse once more.


	12. Dangerous Minds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky gets into Kellogg's head (literally).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna give a big s/o to everyone who's still been reading this crap!

When Bucky woke up, it was almost completely dark, and Dogmeat was looking at him, as sad as could be, as though he and Bucky went into the same dream together. Bucky massaged his head. “I think it’s time to go the fuck back, yeah?” Dogmeat barked and pounced on him, licking his face. Bucky unlocked the door, and found his clean suit perfectly folded on the floor in front of him. He took the shield, the suit, a somewhat clean towel, a lucky bar of soap that was somehow still in the house, and Dogmeat to the creek behind the house. Codsworth wasn’t inside, so he’d have to thank him later. Bucky cleaned himself off. He didn’t realize how gross he became since leaving the Vault. Like a tumbleweed of dirt was going around everything and stuck on him while he was doing nothing. He doesn’t know if other people bathe, or are just used to the smell. He doesn’t think the synths do, even the mannequin-type ones. He’d have to ask Nick.

There was dirt _everywhere_. In his shoes, on his suit, on his Pip-Boy, and even on his shield for fuck’s sake. There was more dirt on him than on Dogmeat somehow. He took the towel and put it in the creek for no less than three seconds, then wiped off the screen of the Pip-Boy. He cleaned the shield by putting the whole thing in the water. He took multiple handfuls of water to dump on his face and hair. He hadn’t realized it had been getting long. Maybe he’ll cut it. Maybe he won’t. Codsworth could certainly do it if he asked.

After washing himself, he made the daunting task of trying to clean Dogmeat. Surprisingly, he sat still the whole time. There wasn’t a lot of dirt on him, but there was small pieces of grass and twigs on him that Bucky had never noticed. He had to get brushed more than getting clean. “Ya feel better?” Bucky asked, once he got dry and clothed. Dogmeat barked a loud ‘yes’. Bucky pat his head, and they snuck out the back way to avoid Preston. As much as he liked the guy, he couldn’t keep recruiting more people to join the Minutemen. He could barely protect Piper, so there’s no way he’d be able to protect a big group of people. Even though they could defend themselves easily enough, Bucky felt like Steve. To protect as many people as he could. That included the millions of people who were waiting for the war to be over. But each time he couldn’t, Steve felt bad for _days_. Bucky thought he could never have that burden. But he’s going to have to, sooner or later.

On the way back to Diamond City, they of course ran into Raiders, and they had attack dogs. As much as Bucky hated killing dogs, it had to be done. This one in particular had armor on it however. Even though Dogmeat now had armor, he still wanted him to stay behind the shield in an attack.

Close to the entrance, security were fighting giant greenish people in an unfinished building, across from a ravaged mini-mart. There were only six or seven, and were tough bastards. _Thank fuck they don’t have Stealth Boys_.

“Hey, you’re fuckin’ tough,” a security guard said, walking back after the fight ended.

“What the fuck were those things?”

The guy scoffed. “You ain’t heard of Super Mutants? They’re big fuckers.”

Bucky nodded and continued past, Dogmeat following. When they got into the Market, Bucky checked at the Agency, and only Ellie was there. So, his next stop was to Piper’s office. “Come _on_ , Nicky. I’m just asking for your opinion. It’d be a great quote,” Piper was saying when he walked in.

Nick shook his head. “He’s my client, Piper. Why don’t you learn not to snoop on a man’s private affairs?”

Bucky looked at them, and walked forward, clearing his throat. “Well, well. Speak of the devil…” Piper said. Nick turned towards him and nodded. “So you two are finally letting in on this little case of yours. What’s the story?”

Bucky sighed. “Where do you want me to start? The part where Kellogg turned out to be working for the Institute? Or the part where he told me they have Steve,”

“The Institute. Oh boy…” Piper said, sighing. “I’ve been investigating these creeps for over a year now,” she scoffed. “The Commonwealth’s boogeyman...feared and hated by everyone,”

Nick nodded. “True enough,”

“Sometimes they snatch people in the middle of the night...and sometimes they leave old synths behind to remind us that they’re out there. But...to this day, there’s one thing nobody really knows--”

“Where the Institute actually is, or how to get in,” Nick said.

“Exactly. But there’s one person who has to know, right? The guy who just handed them Steve,”

“Kellogg, huh,” Nick said.

“What about him?” Bucky asked. He looked at Piper, then Dogmeat, who was sniffing around, then sat on the couch.

“He had to have a way in and out, but...well we both know that angle is cut off,”

“That’s because he’s in hell! Any other ideas?”

“Talk about a literal dead end,” Nick said.

“So...umm…murderer and kidnapper gets his brains blown out by an avenging lover. Huh,” Piper said, sighing. “Be a great ending if we didn’t still have the biggest mystery in the Commonwealth to solve,”

“I’d kill that motherfucker again if I had the chance,” Bucky said, clenching his jaw. “What the fuck now?”

“Hmm...gets his brains blown out. Huh. His brains…” Nick said, thinking. “You know, we may not need the man at all,”

“You’re talking crazy here, Nick. Got a fault in the old subroutines?” Piper asked, confused but eager to know what he’s going to say.

“Look. There’s a place in Goodneighbor called ‘The Memory Den’. Relive the past moments in your mind as clear as the day they happened. If anyone could get a dead brain to sing, it’ll be Dr. Amari. The mind behind the memories,”

“Who’s this Dr. Amari?”

“I’ll let her give you her life story in person. Let’s stay focused. Guess we’re gonna need a piece of Kellogg’s brain. Enough gray matter to bring to Amari and find out if this is going to work,”

“Jesus, Nick. Gross! Seriously?!” Piper asked, sticking her tongue out in disgust.

“I know it’s grisly but what choice do we have. We got no leads. Nothing. That old merc’s brain just might have all the secrets we need to know,”

“I already have it, Nick,” Bucky said. Piper stood up straight, wanting to know more. “Kellogg had this thing attached to his head,”

“Cybernetics, huh? We may have just won the lottery,” Nick said.

“Whether we’re riding this crazy brain train or not we can’t all go running across the Commonwealth so who’s coming with?” Piper asked.

Before Bucky could say anything, Nick cut in. “I have to go to the Memory Den either way. I’m gonna introduce you to Amari. If you want to head there together just say so,” Bucky looked at Piper, who looked excited, whether she was going or not.

“I’m gonna head out with Dogmeat instead. We’ll meet you there.” Bucky said.

“Sounds good. You two stay out of trouble,” Nick put his hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’re gonna get your boy back. Just a few more steps.” Nick walked out the door towards Goodneighbor, and Dogmeat looked excited to go.

***

Even though Bucky has a Pip-Boy, they still got there _way_ later than they could’ve. The small place was between buildings, and the only reason Bucky saw it was because of the neon lights outside. The lights were light red and blue and said “GOODNEIGHBOR” with an arrow pointing towards the door.

Right inside the door was a semi-circle of sidewalk. Right between the two small columns was a man almost the same size smoking a cigarette. Behind him was a building with two shops: a gun shop and Daisy’s Discounts. There were Triggermen walking around, but mostly ghouls. And random drifters.

When he walked forward, the man stopped him. “Hold up there. First time in Goodneighbor? Can’t go walking around without insurance,”

“You better back off, or you’re the one who’s going to need insurance,” Bucky said. The guy put his hands up in defense, then realized who he was.

“Whoa, hey, alright, Captain America. We’ll just, uh, say your insurance is paid up for now, okay?”

A man who was leaning against another building talking to woman came towards them. “Whoa, whoa. Time out. Someone steps through the gate the first time, they’re a guest. You lay off that extortion crap,”

“Why do you care? He ain’t one of us,”

“No love for your mayor, Finn? I _said_ let ‘em _go_ ,”

“You’re soft, Hancock. You keep letting outsiders walk all over us, one day there’ll be a new mayor,”

Bucky noticed Hancock, the mayor, was a ghoul. Didn’t look too bad, if he did say so himself.

“Come on, man. This is me we’re talking about. Let me tell you something,” Hancock walked towards Finn, holding out his arms like he was going to hug him. Instead, he stabbed him twice in the stomach. When Finn fell to the ground, Hancock cleaned his knife and put it away. He looked down at him. “Now why’d you have to go and say that, huh? Breaking my heart over here,”

“Holy shit,” Bucky said, walking towards Hancock, who turned towards him. “Now I know you had ole’ Finn handled back there, but a mayor’s gotta make a point sometimes. You alright?”

Bucky nodded. “I’m fine. Thanks for taking care of him,”

“Good. Now don’t let this incident taint your view of our little community. Goodneighbor is of the people, for the people, you feel me? Everyone’s welcome,”

“Goodneighbor? That what you call this place?”

“That’s right. We cobbled this little neighborhood together out of the freaks and misfits that just wouldn’t be accepted anywhere else. You’ll see. You make enough friends here, you’ll call this place home soon enough. So long as you remember who’s in charge.” Hancock walked away, towards the woman he was talking with earlier. He pet Dogmeat on this head on the way.

Bucky and Dogmeat went down the same way they left through an alleyway, and around the corner was some benches and a whole other street with bigger, not as ruined buildings. They had posters on them and at the other end the street was a little hut filled with drifters next to a cooking station.

The Memory Den was easy to spot; it had red lights and a big sign over the door. The first thing through the door is a small round table with candles on it, next to a cigarette machine. Posters for entertainment were scattered, along with framed paintings. The floors, walls and ceiling were all red. In the main room were four weird pods. They had a reclined chair on the inside, and screen to see your memories once the pod closed. Two of them were occupied by drifters.

Near the back in the middle was Nick talking to a woman on a platform that was laying sideways on a chaise with a TV in front and tables with drinks and a radio around her.

“Well, well. Mister Valentine. I thought had forgotten about little ole’ me,”

“May have walked out of the Den, Irma, but I’d never walk out on you,” Nick responded. _Holy fuck. The people of this world are just as smooth as the ones before, AKA_ me. _I’m impressed, Nick_. Bucky thought.

“Hmph. Amari’s downstairs, you big flirt.”

Nick saw him. “Amari’s downstairs. Let’s go.” On the way downstairs, there was a room that looked like a dressing room. Bucky doesn’t know why. This place doesn’t look like any entertainment went on here, but who knows? They walked down wooden stairs until they got into the bright light of Amari’s office. Inside was a red and white checkered floor, a couch, table, blue lunch pail, filing cabinets and a desolate refrigerator on the right-hand side of the room. On the left was tables with health goods: purified water, food, RadAway, Rad-X, and Stimpaks. And more in the first aid kit on the wall. In the middle were two open pods exactly like the ones from upstairs. In the back, between a wall of buttons and a counter with shelves, was Dr. Amari messing around on a terminal.

“Dr. Amari?” Nick asked.

She turned to look at the both of them. “Yes? I take it this isn’t a social call?”

“You’re the one that can extract memories from a brain, right?” Bucky asked.

She nodded. “Normally we only allow clients to experience their own memories. Now what’s this all about?”

“We need a deep dig, Amari, but it’s not gonna be easy. The perp, Kellogg, is already on the floor,” Nick said.

She stepped back to look at the two men, her mouth open. “Are you two mad?! Putting aside the fact that you’re asking me to defile a corpse, you do realize that the memory simulators require intact, living brain to function?”

Bucky sighed in defeat. “Yeah. Guess I got too carried away sending that fucker to hell,” Bucky continued before she could ask. “Please. Nick told me you’re the only one who could make this work,”

“This dead brain had inside knowledge of the Institute, Amari. The biggest scientific secret of the Commonwealth. You need this, and so do we,” Nick said.

Amari sighed. “Fine. I’ll take a look, but no guarantees. Do you...have it with you?” Bucky nodded. Her tongue was stuck out in disgust.

“This is all I could find,” Bucky said.

She made a surprised look at the Cybernetic Brain Augmentor. “What’s this? This isn’t a brain! This is...wait…” She looked at it from all directions. “That’s the hippocampus! And this thing attached to it. A neural interface?”

Nick squinted at it. “Those circuits look awfully familiar…”

“I’m not surprised. From what I’ve seen, all Institute technology has a similar architecture,”

“Nick’s an older model synth. Is he compatible?” Bucky asked.

Amari nodded. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. If we’re lucky, it should hook right in. But even if it works, Mister Valentine would be taking on a tremendous amount of risk. We’re talking about wiring something to his brain,”

“Don’t worry about me, Amari. Let’s do it,” Nick said.

Bucky turned to him. “Are you sure?”

“Very extra,” Nick said.

“I appreciate this, Nick. Thank you.”

“You can thank me when we’ve found your fiance. Alright. Let’s do this,”

“Whenever you’re ready, Mister Valentine. Just sit down,” Amari said. Nick went to sit in a small desk chair right next to one of the pods.

“If I start cackling like an old, grizzled mercenary, pull me out, okay?” Amari stood behind Nick, and hooked the small part of Kellogg’s brain into Nick’s.

“I need you to keep talking to me, Mister Valentine. Any slight change in your cognitive functions could be dire,” she was making it as precise as possible, to keep Nick safe. “Are you...feeling any different?”

“There’s a lot of...flashes...static...I can’t make sense of any of it, doc,” Nick replied. He looked completely buzzed out; staring at nothing.

“That’s what I was afraid of. The mnemonic impressions are encoded,” she looked at Bucky. “It appears the Institute has one last failsafe. There’s a lock on the memories in the implant,”

“How the hell do you lock memories?”

“The implant is encoding all the mnemonic activity in the hippocampus. Think of it like...computer encryption. And we don’t have the password,” she looked Bucky up and down. “Let’s see...a single mind wouldn’t be able to crack it, but...what if we used two? We load both you and Mister Valentine into the memory loungers. Run your cognitive functions in parallel. He’ll act as a host while your consciousness drives through whatever memories we can find,”

“What should we expect to be in there?”

“I have no clue, but considering we only have a single piece of the medial temporal lobe, and not the whole brain, I doubt it’ll be...cohesive,” Bucky looked at the pod, and his breathing started to become shallow. He knows he’ll get out and everything will be the same. That no one could take Nick or Dogmeat while he watches helplessly. He doesn’t necessarily _trust_ Dr. Amari, but in this world, you need to make more friends than enemies. And considerably faster, too. But it’s not like someone’s going to come downstairs and kill all of them except Bucky, again. They’d have to get through the whole Neighborhood Watch. His mind was racing way too fast. Amari waved her hand in front of his face, her face showing confusion. Bucky inhaled and exhaled deeply. “Alright. Let’s do it.”

“Just sit down over there. And...keep your fingers crossed.” Bucky took a deep breath again, pet Dogmeat’s head, and climbed in. It was about ten times more comfortable than Vault 111.

“See you on the other side.” Nick said.

Bucky watched the pod close, and the TV-like screen come in front of him. Dogmeat was sitting just outside, looking in, with a confused face. Bucky would give him a smile or a thumbs up, but he was frozen. He couldn’t move as much as he wanted to, so he just tried to maintain his breathing; making it as even as possible. Behind his left he could hear Amari typing away on the terminal. “Initiating brain-wave migration between the transplant and the host. Mnemonic activity coming from the transplant! It’s degenerated, but it’s there! We’re going to load you into the strongest memories we can find. They might not be....stable...just hold on!”

And with that, everything disappeared, including Dogmeat, his ever-so-loyal friend. He’ll be there when Bucky gets out of Kellogg’s head. He will. He better fuckin’ be.

***

Bucky was placed into Kellogg’s _actual_ brain. The path to each of Kellogg’s memories was purple neurons. His surroundings were the rest of Kellogg’s brain; it was almost dark, besides of the lights of his neurons flickering and moving around him. He could hear Dr. Amari, almost echoing around him. “ _Can you hear me? Ah, good. The simulation appears to be working, although the memories are quite fragmentary. I’ll try to step you through the intact memories, and hope we find one that gives us some clue to the Institute’s location,_ ” The path appeared as he continued to walk closer towards a memory. “ _...there. This is the earliest intact memory I can find,_ ”

Bucky made it into a small bedroom where a woman was sitting in a chair next to a child sitting cross-legged on a bed, reading comics. He could hear the radio: “And that makes it official, folks. The final vote count from the Hub is in: 55% in favor of joining the New California Republic,” There was a door on the other side of the room, and a voice yelled through. “Turn down that goddamn radio! I’m trying to sleep!” _That must be Kellogg’s father. I almost feel bad for that fuck._ Bucky thought.

“ _Remember, you are experiencing these memories as Kellogg. This may prove disorienting at first._ ” Amari said.

The radio stayed turned on, despite Kellogg’s father’s demands. “All five states have now signed on, which means that as of this moment, we are all citizens of the New California Republic.”

Bucky walked up to Kellogg’s mother, a woman with dark auburn hair reading a book next to Kellogg. “ _Mom knew how it was. She wasn’t soft but she loved me in her own way,_ ” Kellogg’s voice said.

Bucky walked walked up to the kid version of Kellogg, who was wearing blue onesies, of all things. “ _Oh, I was such a dummy back then. What did I know about how the world worked,_ ”

“Sucks ass for _you_ , Kellogg,” Bucky said. He walked up to the door, where his dad’s voice came from. “ _Dad was either drunk, or not around. I guess he must have run around with one of the Raider gangs, but...I never really knew what he did. I don’t know why Mom was with him. Maybe at some point in his life he wasn’t a complete asshole._ ”

The radio came back on and continued it’s broadcast. “I’m sure that’s going to take some getting used to for a lot of people. But here in Shady Sands, people have been waiting for this day for a long time.”

After that, the memory became grey and motionless, cueing Bucky to continue on through Kellogg’s memories. “ _This doesn’t seem to be what we’re looking for,_ ” Dr. Amari said, her voice surrounding him. “ _There appears to be another intact memory close to you in temporal sequence...there._ ”

The next memory went from gray to regular lighting, just as before. This time it had adult Kellogg with _hair_ , a woman, presumably his wife, and an infant child in crib. Outside the window was the San Francisco bridge. Kellogg was cooking at a stove, the woman washing dishes. “ _Try that one._ ”

Kellogg talked from overhead again. “ _The thing about happiness is that you only know you had it when it’s gone. I mean, you may think to yourself that you’re happy. But you don’t really believe it. You focus on the petty bullshit, or the next job, or whatever. It’s only looking back, by comparison with what comes after, that you really understand that’s what happiness felt like,_ ” Bucky stopped for a moment and looked at the wedding ring on his metal finger. For once in his life, Kellogg said something relatable to Bucky.

He sighed, and went to the woman, named Sarah. “ _I was the worst thing that ever happened to her,_ ” Kellogg said, and Bucky scoffed. “ _If she’d never met me, she’d have stayed in the Hub, maybe hooked up with someone who didn’t kill people for a living. Probably been happier than she was with me. Almost certainly lived longer,_ ”

Bucky went up to the crib. The baby’s name was Mary. “ _Whatever made me think a guy like me should have a daughter...I never deserved her. Not for one second,_ ”

Kellogg spoke in the memory this time. “It’s going to be fine. You’ll see,”

“But we don’t _know_ anybody here, and now with the baby…” the woman said.

Kellogg walked over towards her. “Come on, Sarah, you’ve got to give it a chance. I’ve finally got steady work with a good outfit. Nothing like that in the NCR these days,”

“Ugh. I’m not saying this was a mistake. I’m just…” she walked over to the small dining table in the middle of the room and sat down. “Are you sure these guys know what they’re doing? They seem kind of...green,”

“I know. But that’s where I come in. Just wait. In a few years, I’ll be running my own crew, as soon as I make the connections I need. Then I can give you anything you want. And little Mary, too,”

“I never worried about you before. Must be my mama instincts kicking in. Who knew I had those, huh?” Sarah looked over at the crib.

Kellogg put his hand on her shoulder. “Come on. You’re great with her. And you don’t need to worry about me. Most of it’s just running security for the Shi. A lot of standing around looking tough,”

“Ah, well they sure picked the right person for that job,”

“Listen. It’s going to be great here,” he pulled out the pistol he shot Steve with, and almost killed Bucky with. “See this? This is what’s going to keep you and Mary safe. I promise,”

“I know, Connie. I’m sure we’re going to be really happy here,”

“We are. You’ll see,” right then, Mary started to cry, and Kellogg told Sarah he’ll handle it. Then the memory went dark, and the three of them disappeared. The path on the other side of the room appeared.

“ _Let’s keep looking...I’ll connect you to the next intact memory,_ ” Amari said.

The next memory was Kellogg, almost exactly as the version from before, but somewhat older. He was walking down a hallway to get someone just like Bucky had. A voice even came through the speakers, too. “ _How did you think this was going to end, Kellogg?_ ” the voice laughed. “ _You thought you could just fuck with us, and we wouldn’t fuck with you? Just so you know -- they died like dogs. And you weren’t there to help them._ ” Kellogg cocked his gun, yelled, and busted through the door with his foot. Then the memory went cold, Kellogg disappearing.

“ _I’ve found another memory to try. I’ll connect you,_ ” Amari said. Bucky continued forward, not knowing what to think of the guy after this. These strange people killed his family. Bucky guessed that was when he lost all empathy -- all feelings -- towards anyone, including himself.

The next memory was him -- his hairline receding -- sitting at a small table in a bar, drinking, two men standing in front of him, the woman behind the bar wiping it down with a rag. “Mind if we...sit down?” one of the men said.

“Suit yourself,” Kellogg replied.

Bucky saw the bartender and went to her, accessing a memory of Kellogg’s. The moment froze, letting Kellogg speak his mind. “ _I don’t remember much from that time. It all kind of blends together. There was almost always a bar, though. That’s always universal,_ ”

Bucky went to the closest Wastelander by him. “ _There was always a job for someone like me. It didn’t matter what it was. It didn’t matter who I was supposed to kill. I got pretty good at it,_ ” he went to the other man. “ _There was always someone that wanted someone else dead. Sometimes just roughed up, but uh, dead was usually what they wanted. Sometimes they thought they could cheat me. That was usually only when I first arrived somewhere. It didn’t matter to me. I just took it as part of the job. A little extra thrown in for free. I always got paid in the end, one way or another,_ ”

Bucky went up to Kellogg himself. “ _I didn’t care where I was going. Ended up mostly wandering east. Getting as far away from San Francisco as I could, maybe._ "

The Wastelander continued in real time. “So, uh, I hear you’ll take care of people’s problems, is that right?”

“If you pay me,” Kellogg replied.

“Oh, we’ll pay you,” the other man said.

“And, uh, you’ll do this all by yourself?”

“That’s right,” Kellogg said, putting down his drink and looking at both of them.

“We pay you when the job’s done. That okay?”

“If that’s the way you want to do it. So who do you want dead?”

“Well, it’s like this. There’s this family, lives down the creek a ways…” The memory went cold and everyone disappeared. “ _Well, we seem to be getting closer. Try this next one,_ ” Amari said.

Bucky walked up to the next one. Kellogg looked like the one he saw before, only days ago. He was standing in front of a table where a woman in all white was sitting. There were three stick-like synths standing around them.

“Mr. Kellogg. I’m glad you’ve decided to meet with me,” the woman said.

“So, you’re with the Institute...I wanted to see for myself if you really existed,”

“We do, as you can see,”

“What do you want?”

“It’s come to my attention that you’ve been rather disruptive of our operations lately. This must stop,”

Kellogg shrugged his shoulders and took a drag from his cigarette. “I do what people pay me to do. If that’s a problem for you, I can see only one way out,”

“And what’s that, Mr. Kellogg?”

“If I’m working for _you_ , there’s no more problem. From what I hear, you can afford me,”

“I don’t think you fully understand the situation you’re in,”

“I think I do,” She looked at the synth to her left. “Very well. B7-48, initiate…” 

Kellogg took that synth in front of him as a shield, and shot the other two, dropped the last one on the ground, and shot it, too. “Hmm. Impressive. We may have something to talk about after all.”

“ _Getting warmer. One of these has_ got _to tell us something,_ ” Amari said. “ _We’re running out of brain here...uh...ah, there’s one that looks mostly intact. Connecting now,_ ”

He followed the path, but stopped right before he entered the memory. He could see the people in the Vault. He could see the woman walking up to the Vault terminal at the end of the room. He put himself back together again and continued. The Vault Computer spoke over the speakers.

“ _Manual override initiated. Cryogenic stasis suspended,_ ” Bucky walked up to Kellogg, wanting to kick his ass, but he knew he couldn’t. All he could do was to listen to what he had to say about this. “ _I was now the Institute’s main operator in the Commonwealth. If they needed something done, they came to me. It wasn’t usual for anybody from the Institute to come along on a mission. So this one stood out. I didn’t know then who it was we were grabbing from the Vault. Of course, neither did they. Not really,_ ”

Bucky went to the person in front of the terminal. “ _The eggheads never liked taking orders from a dirty contaminated degenerate like me. But they needed me, and I made sure they knew it,_ ”

One of the men spoke. “Vault computers are still working. That’s good. Checking through the logs. Hopefully it’s all-”

“Just...find it,” Kellogg said.

“Pod C6. Down the hall near the end,” Bucky followed Kellogg again, looking at the others still in the pods. They were awake, and just as confused as Bucky was, all those years ago. Some of them were banging of the window, trying to get out. He could even see himself moving around too. “ _Even then, I knew it was a mistake leaving him alive. I understood that kind of revenge, no one better. But I was cocky enough to assume I could handle some soft, pre-war Vault dweller, even if he somehow got thawed out. At least I know those Institute bastards will soon get what’s coming to them, too. If he could take me out, they won’t be able to hide from him for long_ ,”

“That’s goddamn right, Kellogg,” Bucky said. He walked up to Steve, who looked the most out of place than everyone else again. “ _I know I’m a bastard, but at least I’m human,_ ” Kellogg said. Bucky went over to Mrs. Whitfield. “ _I never knew why we didn’t just refreeze the rest of them, but we had our orders. I guess the old man didn’t want so many loose ends. Too bad he left alive the one person he shouldn’t have,”_

This memory played out just like it did years ago. Bucky hated the fact that it’s fresh in his mind again. “This is the one. Here,” said the woman, pointing at Steve.

“Open it,” Kellogg said.

Steve started to cough. “Is it over? Are we okay?”

“Almost. Everything’s going to be fine,” Kellogg said.

“What?” Two other bigger people in hazmat suits came over to pull Steve out of his pod unwillingly. “Hey! GET OFF ME!” Steve said, knocking out one guy, pushing away the other, telling the lady to back off. Bucky couldn’t do anything but watch Kellogg pull out his gun and shoot Steve in his leg, causing him to fall down. “NO! NO!”

The two guys got back up and started to drag him away. Steve was using his arms and his other leg to try and get them off, but it didn’t work. He looked at Bucky’s pod while he was being dragged away. “BUCKY! NO!” He saw Kellogg walk up to Bucky’s old pod. “At least we still have the backup…”

“ _Cryogenic sequence reinitialized,_ ” the Vault computer said. Steve had disappeared, but the others were still standing there.

“What’s the hold up?” Kellogg said to the guy at the terminal.

“I’m almost finished, Kellogg. I just need to confirm...alright. We’re good.”

The memory went cold and it was quiet for a few moments. Bucky couldn’t go around and see the other other pods, or himself for that matter. Not even Steve’s. Bucky knelt over, his hands on his knees, and tried his hardest not to completely lose it.

“ _I’m sorry you had to see that again. Let’s move on._ ” Amari said.

Bucky nodded and followed the path forward. The next memory was Kellogg’s home in Diamond City. Steve was there, buzzed out of his mind, like he didn’t have a care in the world. Like he didn’t have to get back to Bucky.

“ _Is that Steve? This appears to be a very recent memory, so...good news, I think,_ ” Amari said. Kellogg was cleaning his pistol, and Bucky went up to Steve to get a better look. It was one of the worst things he’s ever seen. He looked beat up from all over (he doesn’t want to think about leg). He looked drugged, maybe so he doesn’t fight back. As a whole, Steve was gone. Bucky’s heart broke for him. He can’t imagine what’s going on with Steve, or what has, for that matter. Bucky just wants him back. But he knows that it’s not going to be easy, so he’s just gonna have to man up for now.

“ _It wasn’t my idea to settle down with this guy in the middle of Diamond City. I thought it was a terrible idea, actually. But it was one of the old man’s pet projects, so here we were. Me and him, as a family you could say. I ended up kind of liking it. A reminder of what my life might have been if things turned out differently. But there’s no going back. I knew it was just temporary, and it would be back to normal business before too long,_ ”

Bucky walked up to Kellogg, half-furious, half-sincere. He knows that Kellogg’s lost his family due to horrible circumstances. He knows that Kellogg has no empathy for anyone, even himself. He wonders how long he’s lost his family. He must’ve gotten worse and worse after it happened, and now nothing can get worse. Except for Bucky. At least he knew it was coming. Maybe he was actually ready? That he was done with the Institute and couldn’t get out of there without dying?

Bucky’s done feeling for this guy. He’s glad he, personally, killed Kellogg. “ _This whole setup in Diamond City was part of some elaborate plan of the old man’s. Seems obvious now that we were bait for our friend from the Vault. The timing couldn’t have been an accident. That’s not how the old man works. I wonder if he outsmarted me in the end. Another loose end tied up,”_ Since Bucky was watching both Steve and Kellogg, he didn’t see the man in all dark clothes until he started talking.

“Kellogg,” Bucky accessed this memory before the conversation could continue and the memory end. “ _The new breed of synths could easily pass as human. Some of them did. But the coursers -- they weren’t built to blend in. They were killing machines, pure and simple. Smarter, stronger, and faster than almost any real human. I’m just glad they were always on my side,_ ”

“One of these days you’re going to get your head blown off, just barging in here like that,” Kellogg said.

The Courser moved closer, specifically in Steve’s direction. His voice was like liquid gold. “Minimizing my exposure to civilians is a priority,” Kellogg stood up and rolled his eyes.

“Forget I said anything. So what’s the big crisis this time?”

“New orders for you. One of our scientists has left the Institute,”

“Left as in…?”

“He’s gone rogue. Name’s Doctor Brian Virgil. We know he’s hiding somewhere in the Glowing Sea. Here’s his file,”

Kellogg took the file from the Courser. “Wow. Some heads are going to roll for this. Capture and return or just elimination?”

“Elimination. He was working on a highly classified program,”

Kellogg was looking in the file. “No kidding. One of the top Bioscience boys? Damn,” Kellogg sighed. “So...I guess you’re taking this guy back with you,”

“Affirmative. Your only mission is to locate and eliminate Virgil,”

Steve’s speech was slurred, and his eyes barely open. He looked like when he thought he was Atlas. Tired as hell. His shoulders heavy with a million problems. Even though he has one or two, it may seem like he has a million. “Are you taking me to Bucky?”

The Courser didn’t ask who Bucky was, but didn’t hesitate with his reply. “Yes. Stand next to me and hold still,”

“Okay,” Steve said. He tried to get up, but couldn’t, so the Courser picked him up like he was a feather. Kellogg was right about the strength part. He held Steve, and spoke, not at anybody in particular. “X6-88, ready to Relay with Steve.”

“See ya, Kellogg.” Then, both of them disappeared in a quick and loud blue light.

“Bye.” Kellogg said.

“ _Teleportation! Now it all makes sense. Nobody’s found the entrance to the Institute because there IS no entrance. As soon as you’re ready, I can pull you out._ ” The TV turned on with the “PLEASE STAND BY” signal on it. Bucky’s only way out of this shit.

Bucky got up out of the Memory Lounger, breathing hard. “Slow movements, okay?” Amari said, her hands in front of her. “I don’t know what kind of side effects the procedure might have had. No one’s ever...done this before. How do you feel?”

“I have no idea. Do I look okay?” Bucky responded. When he saw Dogmeat, both of them got excited, and Dogmeat came over to receive pets. Bucky was way calmer with his friend here.

“Don’t be alarmed, but I honestly don’t know what to look for. As I said before, this is uncharted territory,” Amari said, once he and Dogmeat were done reuniting. “But your neutral and physiological readings have returned to normal. From a medical standpoint, you’re fine. Are you...ready to talk about what happened in there?”

Bucky rubbed his temple. He then nodded. “There’s more than one person who knows about the Institute. Virgil, that scientist who escaped…”

“Wow. I didn’t know Institute scientists could defect. This changes everything. He could answer all sorts of questions. Where did the memory say he was? The Glowing Sea? That can’t be right. No one would risk going there. Not even to hide,”

“Why? Why is it dangerous?”

“The name says it all. Radiation. So much that nothing there could possible live. Nothing...pleasant. Navigating radioactive hazards is nothing new, but the Glowing Sea can kill a man in seconds. That’s why it doesn’t make sense. Virgil fleeing into that hell. The exposure alone,”

“Well, a man has to do what has to do. That’s why he’s there. To make the Institute think twice about following him,”

Amari gasped excitedly. “That must be it! He’s using the radiation in the Glowing Sea like a shield or a...cloak...a way to throw them off and be at an advantage. If Virgil found a way to survive there, you’ll have to do the same, if you’re going to follow him,”

“Well fuck me. How the hell am I supposed to do that?”

“RadAway, Rad-X. A sealed environment would be great, if you could find one. Or maybe...one of those suits of Power Armor? That would be perfect,”

“Jesus fuckin’ a. I’ll do my best, then,”

Amari nodded. “Good luck, and...be safe. By the way, I unplugged Mister Valentine first while you were waking up. He’s waiting for you upstairs,”

Bucky nodded, and he and Dogmeat went back upstairs to talk to Nick. He was sitting on a red couch close to the exit of the Memory Den. “ _Hope you got what you were looking for inside my head. Heh. I was right. Should’ve killed you on ice._ ” Kellogg’s voice came out instead of Nick’s.

“What the fuck Nick?”

He responded in his own voice. “What? What are you talking about?”

“You sounded like Kellogg just then,”

“Did I? Amari said there might be some ‘mnemonic impressions’ left over. Anyway, I feel fine, so let’s get going,”

“We have to go into the goddamn Glowing Sea. Any advice?”

“Hmm...I’m a Synth, so radiation isn’t much of an issue for me, but an old suit of Power Armor might just be the guardian angel you’re looking for. That, or you could buy up all the Rad-X and RadAway you can find from any chem dealer who’s got it in stock,”

Bucky looked at Dogmeat, who looked back, cute as ever. He certainly can’t bring him in there. He’d die just as fast, maybe even faster. “Come with me then,”

“Been one heck of a ride so far. Let’s see where it takes us next,” Nick said, standing up and ready to follow.

He pet Dogmeat and sent him up back to Sanctuary Hills, where he’d be completely safe. “I love that fucking dog.” Bucky said.

“I do too.” Nick responded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: captainsmeesh  
> come see what the fuck is up
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	13. A Walk into the Ring, a Fight into the Sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for getting this far. I wanna know if you like this so far, so give kudos and/or a comment!

On the way back home from Goodneighbor, they discovered the Combat Zone. When Bucky was in Diamond City, he had heard a guard talking about it. When they showed up, they ran into Raiders outside the building, some in front of the doors, others on scaffolding on the side. Above the main doors was a marquee saying “COMBAT ZONE”, with lights surrounding it. Inside was all broken, a terminal on the far side next to another set of double doors, and on the left were two Raiders tied up and kneeling on the floor. There was a sign that said “Rule Breakers” in front of them. Bucky had to use the terminal to get inside the room were the Raiders were (the word was “shrines”).

When he walked in, one of the Raiders spoke to him. “What? You here to make friends? By all means, head inside,”

The other guy chuckled. “Heh. Heh. Oh, they’re going to love you,"

The fuck is that supposed to mean?” Bucky asked.

The Raider laughed. “I’m not gonna ruin the surprise. You’ll have fun in there. Promise,”

“Oh, fuck off,” Bucky said, making the guy fall over.

Behind them were more signs. “Tommy’s Rule #1: No fighting outside the cage!”

“The cage?” Bucky asked. The Raider shook his head, refusing to talk anymore.

“Tommy’s Rule #2: No caps? No entry! Tommy’s Rule #3: No begging! No loitering!”

Bucky opened the door, and immediately crouched down, the shield in front of him. Inside was a cage that you’d see in vicious boxing games. He could see a woman kicking some guy’s ass, but that was it. The theater was remade; it had walkways with chairs above, built-in bars, and new seats in the front. The place was infested with Raiders. Bucky guesstimated that there were about twenty of them. He looked at Nick, gesturing to go left while Bucky went right. After he killed the guy at the top of the walkway, a man spoke loudly at Bucky.

“And who’s this? Come on down where we can see you,” then, somehow all the Raiders knew what he just did and came to attack him.

The Raiders were still talking their stereotypical talk, Bucky guessed to up their ego, or to actually kill him before Bucky could shoot back. A lot of them had melee weapons, which Bucky thought was useless, since they wouldn’t be able to get him behind the shield. The woman still standing in the cage talked to him while he was eliminating the rest of the Raiders.

“You’re a regular artist, aren’t ya?” Her accent was Scottish, and somehow angry, if though she didn’t seem like it, as far as Bucky could tell.

When Bucky and Nick were finally done, the man from before spoke again. “You think they’re done out there? We don’t want any trouble! Not anymore, at least,”

“Oh, just peek you head out and stop being a damn coward,” the woman said.

Bucky came closer. “You finished tearin’ the place up now? So you wanna talk this out like civilized folk, or are you going to bash up my theater more? Why don’t you come over here, show us you don’t mean no harm?”

Bucky groaned and walked over to shut this guy up. “Is it over? Well, that could’ve gone worse,” the man was a ghoul in a suit, and the woman was wearing some sort of tank top and had short dark red hair and prominent features.

“Heh. I dunno. Seemed quite the performance from where I was standin’,” the woman said.

“Are you fucking high or something? Why am I asking, of course you are,”

She pointed at the guy. “Still won the fight, didn’t I?”

“You’re strung out and getting sloppy is what you are,” the man turned back to Bucky. “Course, I supposed you ain’t got to worry about that now. Seems like this one just put us out of business. I’m not sure if I should kiss you or have my little bird here feed you your own entrails,”

“I told you to quit callin’ me that!”

Bucky looked between the both of them. “The hell is this place?”

“Not from around here, huh? This is the Combat Zone. Finest arena in the Commonwealth. Cait here’s the headliner. Hundred-plus matches, undefeated. We used to serve a more legit clientele, but about two years ago a gang of Raiders rolled in and we became a more...exclusive establishment. Up until you took our entire client base out of the gene pool and put us out of business, that is. Keeping those idiots entertained was what kept us in caps. Now just what the are we supposed to do?”

“To hell with them!” Cait barged in. “More’ll come. Just need a quick breather and I’ll be ready to go,”

“A breather? What? So you can slam more of that junk into your arm? No, no. You know what? I think this was a blessing in disguise,” the guy turned from Cait to him. “You caught the end of that bout. What’d ya think about Cait’s work?”

“I didn’t catch the whole thing,” Bucky responded.

“Yeah, I guess you were pretty busy cleaning house. Impressive work. Makes me think you’re good enough to do me a favor. So here’s my predicament. I suddenly got no audience. No audience means I got no caps coming in,” he turned back to Cait. _This guy does a lot of fucking turning_ , Bucky thought. The guy continued. “And if you ain’t bringing in caps, little bird, you ain’t an asset. You’re a liability. To me...and to yourself,” he looked between Bucky and Cait.

Then offered Bucky a deal: “So...here’s what I’m thinkin’. What say I let you take over her contract? She goes with you, watches your back...look you’d be doin’ me a favor while I try to get the place back in order. What do ya say?”

“Me? And _him_?” Cait said.

Bucky nodded at her. “I’d like to know what you think, Cait,”

“Don’t I get a say in this?”

“That ain’t how a contract works. Besides, you really wanna stay here? No audience. No caps. No one to talk to but yours truly,”

“ _Jesus_. Point taken,”

“That-a-girl. So, she’s on board. Now what about you?”

“Why would you want her to go with me?”

“Yeah, Tommy? Just why the hell you trying to get rid of me?”

“Maybe I just think you deserve some time off. Maybe I like this one’s face. I don’t know. I usually got a good sense about this sorta thing. So what do you say?” Tommy asked.

Bucky looked at Tommy, Cait, then Nick. Nick didn’t look like he’d be upset if he went with Cait. “Sure. I could use someone watching my back,”

“Good! It’s settled then. And here. Take this. It’s the purse from the last fight. Exterminator’s fee,” Tommy said.

Cait put her hands up. “Now wait just a second. What exactly are you gonna do without me here?”

“You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll get this place set up right, maybe find a less bloodsoaked clientele. Now get the hell out of here. You ain’t welcome around here, little bird,” “You’re a real son of a bitch, you know that, Tommy?”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Tommy said, walking out of the cage, to another room.

“Are you ready to go?” Bucky asked.

“About time I got out of this place. Let’s go,” Cait said.

 

They made their way to Diamond City before going to Sanctuary Hills. Bucky found a man named Solomon, the chems dealer of the Market. Bucky bought as much RadAway and Rad-X as he could. He went to the other stalls to try and get as many Fusion Cores as he could. He already had the one from Concord, but he doesn’t know how much juice it has left. Better safe than sorry.

When they got back to Sanctuary Hills, Bucky went to find Nick, who was walking around. “Hey, Nick. You mind coming with me?” Bucky asked.

“Well, alright,” he said.

“Alright, Nicky. You watch yourself out there,” Cait said.

“Don’t worry Cait, I will,” Nick said.

When Dogmeat walked by, Bucky pet him. He didn’t even know how much he missed his furry companion. Dogmeat whimpered curiously. “Don’t worry, bud. I’ll be back. Probably,” Bucky picked up Dogmeat and hugged him as hard as he could, and Dogmeat licked his face. He kissed Dogmeat on the top of his head and put him down. Bucky saw the Power Armor and exhaled deeply. He turned to Nick. “Are you ready?”

“If you are,” Nick said.

Bucky went up to the Power Armor station, turned the latch on the back, and stepped up, the suit closing behind him. The map showed that the Glowing Sea was southwest; what looked like a million miles away. He stood up straight, trying to gain as much courage as possible. He and Nick traveled downwards to one of Bucky’s nightmares. One that he’s never had before, since he didn’t think it was possible. But this new world he’s in has way too many surprises that he doesn’t like.

***

Bucky learned that the Glowing Sea is where one of the bombs dropped. So now he has even more anxiety to deal with. The threat of Steve killing him and/or his friends, his Minutemen, and now the Glowing Sea, where even more enemies will be lurking. The radiation makes them stronger too. There’s gotta be more than only Deathclaws and Ghouls. _How the fuck is he supposed to get there alive?_ He’ll bet that Virgil is on the opposite side of the fucking _world_. Bucky’s not ready to enter the jaws of death, but at least he’s not alone.

The edge of the Glowing Sea is right next to Vault 92, where what seemed like Gunners inhabited. Bucky and Nick didn’t want to cause themselves more trouble, so they snuck past them. On their side, their surroundings were safe (as much as possible). The other side looked sickly green, and Bucky could already feel the rads creeping up towards them. “I don’t think I can do it,” Bucky said.

“Yes, you can,” Nick responded, looking up at him. Bucky always forgot how Power Armor makes the wearer almost a foot taller than they already are. “Look, Steve is waiting for you. I’m certain of that. The more time you fool around, the more time things could...happen to him,”

“I already know what they’re doing,” Nick gave him a confused look. “They’re torturing him, Nick. Jesus fucking Christ,”

“Man. Every time I think we’re getting somewhere, it gets worse. It’s not as bad as others I’ve had,” Nick said.

“Oh really?”

“I’ll have to tell you about it sometime,” Nick said, then gasped. What seemed to be an Albino Deathclaw was walking around in front of them. Bucky reached behind him for his shield, but he didn’t bring it with him. He thought Power Armor would be just as strong. Hopefully he’s right about that one. “What’s the plan?” Nick asked. “Are we gonna charge in like Vault 114?”

“We’re gonna charge in, but we’re not gonna fight,” Bucky responded. “Don’t you know what’s in there?”

“Deathclaws, Radscorpions, Feral Ghouls, giant RadRoaches, I don’t know. It’s not good,”

“Why does radiation only affect the bad shit?”

“You tell me,”

“ _You’ve_ been around longer,”

“That doesn’t mean I know everything about science, especially radiation,”

“I guess so,” The two of them looked back where the Deathclaw was. It was nowhere to be seen. That made Bucky’s stomach twist. “Okay. We’re gonna run for it. Unless you wanna take your time and almost die every other second,”

“I’ll follow. Just slower,” They looked out to the Glowing Sea. The trees were completely obliterated, and there was smoke hanging around from where they could see. He didn’t see any enemies yet. _Yet_. The mountains looked like they were going to attack him, too. Bucky made some quick breaths and ran forward, into his impending doom.

In some spots were bright green pools of foulness, which he avoided. The liquid was bubbling, and he could see things in it. The land wasn’t flat; it had millions of tiny hills, with enemies waiting to attack. He could hear Ferals, and some digging. _The fuck is the digging from?_ Behind him jumped out a giant scorpion, a Radscorpion as Nick called it. If it stood up straight like a human, it’d be as tall as Bucky in his Power Armor.

The sky above him was green, but it got darker, and he could hear thunder. “I swear to fucking God if giant drops of radiation falls on me I’m gonna fucking lose it.” He continued through, dodging enemies and giant pools of bubbly radiation. He even passed buildings buried deep in rubble. He discovered that nothing lived on the peaks of the almost mountain-like hills, so he stayed close to the edge and on top. At the bottom of a big crater, presumably where the bomb hit, was a small town, living in the radiation with no protection whatsoever.

He walked up to the largest building, where a well-dressed woman was standing. “Stop right there, stranger. You approach Atom’s holy ground. Why? State your purpose, or be divided in his sight,”

 _The fuck?_ “Holy Ground? Atom? What’s going on here?”

“Atom reached out and touched this world, bringing his Glow to us. It remains to this day, a reminder of his promise. Infinite worlds through his division,” Around him were people in tattered clothes on their knees, looking as if they were bowing down to the giant pool of radiation they live on and around.

He wanted to make a face, but had to be polite to this woman. She _has_ to know about Virgil. “I’m looking for someone named Virgil,”

“Virgil? Yes...we know this Virgil. What do you want with him?”

Bucky could hear his geiger counter beeping fast. “If you don’t want a green suntan, I suggest we get a move on here,” Nick said from behind him. Bucky looked behind him and told he got it. He looked back at the woman. “I just need some information from him,”

“I see. In truth, this Virgil has caused some concern. Some believe his presence is an affront to Atom. Though he came to trade with us on a few occasions, we have had little other contact with him. It was quite clear he wanted to be left alone. You can find him southwest of the crater, living in a cave. I would approach cautiously, were I you. I feel he does not want visitors,”

“Thank you ma’am,” Bucky said. He and Nick went around the building and climbed up the peak to go towards Virgil’s cave. When they reached where they could the cave entrance, they could also see a sleeping Deathclaw.

“What the fuck now?” Bucky asked.

“Well, like you said before, run past. Hopefully your suit isn’t too loud,” Nick responded.

Bucky nodded. He looked around his surroundings. Thank God he didn’t have to jump straight down. His landing would be loud enough. And Deathclaws are _fast_. He wishes they weren’t. Thankfully, sliding down wouldn’t cause any rocks to fall behind them. He goes for it anyway, but still runs past to the cave. The Deathclaw didn’t even make a move.

In the cave were tin can chimes, turrets and a spotlight. He could see a Protectron moving about too. They didn’t attack Bucky, so he didn’t do anything but move on. Further inside were more lights and tech.

When he rounded the corner he spotted Virgil: a Super Mutant actually wearing decent clothes, didn’t yell, and didn’t attack. “Hold it! Take it nice and slow, no sudden moves...I know you’re from the Institute, so where’s Kellogg? Huh? Trying to sneak up on me while you distract? It’s not going to work! I’m not stupid, I knew they’d send him after me!”

“Yeah. Are you Virgil?”

“You know damn well I am. What’re you doing here?”

“I need your help,”

“My help? With what? How did you even find me, anyway?”

Bucky sighed. “Can you tell me about the Institute, or not?”

“The Institute? So, they _did_ send you, didn’t they. You’re working with Kellogg!”

“I killed that motherfucker,” Bucky said.

“Dead? He’s...dead? Don’t you lie to me!”

“He’s dead, whether you believe me or not,”

"There’s no question it’s difficult to believe. Kellogg was ruthless...there’s a reason the Institute used him to do their dirty work for so many years. I knew they’d send him after me; tried to prepare for it. But I still wasn’t sure I’d make it...And so you. You killed him, eh? Then what do you want with me?”

Bucky got out of his Power Armor. He felt that it’d be more...personal face-to-somewhat face. “Why did you leave the Institute? I know you came from there,”

“You know about the escape? But how?!” Virgil shook his head and pushed his glasses back up his nose. “No, it doesn’t matter. I’m not going back...I can’t go back. Look at me! Why are you even here? What do you want?”

“I need whatever information you’ve got. Anything to help me get into the Institute,”

Virgil looked startled, then leaned towards Bucky. “I’m sorry, _what?_ You want to get _in_ to the Institute? Are you _insane?_ Never mind how nearly impossible that is, even if you were to succeed it’d almost certainly end in your immediate death. What reason could you possible have for taking that kind of risk?”

“They took my fiance. I have reason to believe he’s being tortured,” Bucky said.

“Oh. I’m sorry. I can help you get in there, but I want something in return,”

Bucky nodded. “Alright, what do you need from me?”

“Before I had to escape, I was working on a serum that would serve as a cure for my...condition. I wasn’t able to bring it with me. It’s still in my lab, and...well, look at me. I need it. I need to you find it for me, if you manage to get inside the Institute. What do you say?”

Bucky nodded and gave him a small smile. “Hey, you help me, and I’ll help you,”

Virgil nodded, “Alright. Alright. Let’s talk details. First thing’s first. You know how synths get in and out of the Institute?”

“Yeah, they use some sort of fuckin’ teleporter,”

“Well, well...not many know about it. Pretty closely guarded secret. You’ve certainly done your homework. It’s commonly referred to as the ‘Molecular Relay’. I don’t understand all the science behind it, but it works. De-materializes you in one place, re-materializes you in another. I’m sure it sounds crazy, but it’s a reality. The Relay is the only way in and out of the Institute. You understand? The only one, That means you’re going to have use it. Now, have you ever seen an Institute Courser?”

“No, I don’t think so,”

Virgil nodded. “Another Institute secret. Coursers are Institute synths, designed for one purpose. They’re hunters. Operations go wrong, a synth goes missing, and a Courser is dispatched. They’re very good at what they do, and you’re going to have to kill one,”

Bucky made a confused look. “Why do I have to kill one?”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Because you want to get into the Institute, remember? They’re your ticket in. Every Courser has special hardware that gives them a direct connection to the Relay in the Institute. It’s embedded in a chip in their heads. You need that chip. But to get it, you’ll have to kill a Courser. Now I don’t know exactly where you can find one. They haven’t sent any after me, and sitting here waiting doesn’t seem like a good plan. You’re going to have to hunt one down. I can tell you where to start, and give you some help finding one, but you’ll have to do the dirty work,”

“Okay, let’s get to work,”

“Right. The primary insertion point for Coursers is in the ruins of the CIT, directly above the Institute. So you’ll want to head there. Now, the Relay causes some pretty heavy interference all across the EM spectrum. You’ve got a radio on that Pip-Boy, right?”

Bucky looked at it for a second, then nodded. “When you get to the ruins, tune it to the lower end of the band and listen in. You’ll be able to hear the interference. Follow the signal, and it’ll lead you to a Courser. Then you just have to...not get killed. Not gonna lie; the odds aren’t in your favor here. But if you do make it, remember what I said about the serum. I need it. Badly. I...I really do hope you find what you’re looking for,” Virgil said, and continued his work across the...room? Cave? Bucky wondered how Virgil got all this tech with him, all the way down here, from the rest of the world? Bucky wondered how this guy even got here and has survived longer in this green hell. But he’s way smarter than Bucky would ever be, especially with all this new tech.

He’s glad that he fucked up Kellogg before he could find Virgil. Virgil’s a good enough guy, Bucky guessed. And if he left the Institute on his own accord, then he’s definitely better than anyone else affiliated with them. He checked his radiation levels before getting into his Power Armor. They weren’t as bad as he thought. He thought he’d die of radiation poisoning halfway through the Sea. And Nick wasn’t a problem, so he didn’t need to share any of Bucky’s aides.

The map on his Pip-Boy said the C.I.T. ruins were across the river; across from Diamond City. He and Nick peeked their heads out of the cave, seeing where that Deathclaw from earlier might’ve gone. It was walking around further down the hill, and when they for sure thought it didn’t see them, they ran back up the edge of the mountain. It saw them at the last second, and since those fuckers are so fast, it almost grabbed Nick’s leg. Bucky grabbed his upper half, and started kicking the Deathclaw on his head to get off of Nick. His heavy suit’s boot managed to get rid of it, and he pulled Nick back up to safety.

“You good?” Bucky asked.

Nick was brushing irradiated dirt off of his funny trench coat. “As good as I can be. Let’s go,”

The two of them looked down at the Deathclaw, who was staring at them, furious, and picking up dirt, trying to get it into their eyes. Bucky flipped it off, and they headed back to Sanctuary Hills.

***

The Glowing Sea is a fuckin’ piece of shit, according to Bucky. Running into mosquitoes the same size as him, was _not_ fun for him. He’s glad that the only time that he’ll have to go back into that hell is to give Virgil the serum from his lab in the Institute. Bucky promised him. Least he could do. And, for fuck’s sake, if Steve isn’t there, he’ll still have time to get it from his lab. He’s survived this long, and there’s no reason he can’t keep going on. The more he gets closer to Steve, the more he realizes he’s helping the whole Commonwealth by getting into the Institute. Might as well. _I’m the new Captain America, right?_

By the time they got back, it was raining and thundering. The second he got out of the Power Armor, he realized how tired he was. He was scared to fall asleep, though. Steve’s become a bigger asshole than before, and he can’t do anything about it in his sleep.

Preston came up to him. “General, are you alright?”

“No, I’m dying, Preston,” Bucky said rolling his eyes and giving him as much as a smile as he could. He didn’t look amused by this.

“Well you look like it. The hell did you go?”

Bucky became dizzy and had to lean against the nearest wall. “The Glowing Sea,”

“Christ,”

“I’m glad I’m back,”

“Me, too,” Preston said. Preston asked him set up a Minutemen Recruitment Beacon at some drive-in movie lot. Bucky nodded and set he’d get right on that, after some rest. Dogmeat barked when he saw Bucky and ran up towards him. “Hey bud!” He picked up Dogmeat and went to the comfiest bed he knows of. He said the same thing to Codsworth as he did Preston, and that he just needs some rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: captainsmeesh  
> come see what the fuck is up
> 
> This one is short bc I'm a pussy whenever I go into the Glowing Sea and I don't stop to fight anything lmao (sorry)


	14. I Love You, but You're Fucking Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a horribly written chapter so basically Bucky and his pals have a nice day together, he settles the feud at the Drumlin Diner, sets up a Minutemen Recruitment beacon then Steve ruins it by ruining Sanctuary Hills and almost killing Bucky like he was programmed to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shit, but it gets better after I promise.

Dogmeat is the cutest thing in Bucky’s whole Wasteland. He was sleeping across from Bucky, his head on Steve’s pillow. He’s a good enough replacement if he does say so himself. He and Dogmeat got up, but didn’t go to the Starlight Drive-In that Preston asked him to do yesterday yet. Instead, they went to the lake by walking up the creek, Bucky’s shoes off, and Dogmeat splashing around. The Drive-In was right after Concord, and the day was beautiful, so he figured today could be slow. He did just come from the hell called the Glowing Sea.

Dogmeat didn’t go into the lake, but instead lay next to Bucky for some bellyrubs. Both of them sat in the sun, making Bucky feel nostalgia from before the war. It wasn’t as hectic back then. And he didn’t have to kill mutants, creatures and random people at any given moment. He could spend as much time as he could with Steve, too. They could walk up the creek and sit by the lake all day if they wanted to.

Eventually, the went back into the neighborhood from behind the closest house. He told Nick he was gonna go with Dogmeat for the day, and he didn’t argue over the matter. He grabbed the shield that was left by the Power Armor station, and they out of the neighborhood together. On the way, they came to a stop by a diner where to mercenary-like men were arguing with the woman inside.

“I ain’t giving you poison-shilling chem pushers anything! Do you know what that junk has done to my boy?” the woman said.

When Bucky walked up closer, all of them aimed their weapons at him. “Whoa, whoa, easy there scavver. This doesn’t involve you,” the closest man said.

“You stop wavin’ that fuckin’ gun in my face, or it’s gonna involve me,” Bucky said, frustrated that he already has to talk to people like them today.

They put their weapons down. “Okay, okay, just take it easy. We’ll lower our weapons, alright? Just don’t do anything crazy,”

“What the hell is going on? I could help,” Bucky said.

The guy scoffed. “ _Help?_ What, you some kind of hired gun? Or maybe you can talk some sense into Trudy over there,” he said, nodding his head towards the diner.

Bucky nodded. “I’ll talk to her. Maybe we can work this out,”

“Appreciate it. If things go sideways we’ll back you up,”

Bucky went into the diner, where an older woman was standing in front of a booth, looking out the window towards the two men. In the corner was a young guy, her son, Bucky guessed, rocking back and forth, mumbling about drugs.

“I saw you and that poison-seller talking. Well, he ain’t getting his money. Period,”

Bucky assessed the situation. If these guys stayed alive, they could come back for more money and even the kid. If they died, it would be completely over. But Bucky doesn’t want to be in a gunfight today. “Look. You owe them money. If you just pay them, then this will be over. Everyone walks away without getting hurt,”

Trudy sighed. “Alright. I’ll pay, but that bastard ain’t gonna sell one more drop of Jet to my boy,” she turned towards the window and yelled outwards to the guys. “You hear that, Wolfgang? You’ll get your damn money, but I better not catch you selling chems to my boy again,”

Wolfgang shrugged. “Fine by me, Trudy. Your son’s broke as shit, anyhow,”

She turned back to Bucky. “Alright. Crisis is over. If you’re here to trade, step up to the counter,”

He went outside to talk to Wolfgang, but only saw the woman by him, Simone. “I’m muscle, babe. Just don’t piss me off, alright?”

He stopped Wolfgang on his way into the diner. “We get paid, and I don’t even gotta shoot anybody. Good job. Here. Now how about I show you all the pick-me-ups I have to offer?”

Bucky said ‘no thanks’ to the guy and continued. He just wanted this day to be as easy as possible. And it turns out that the drive-in is right behind Drumlin Diner. The screen had holes in it; some of the tiles were about to fall off. There were only some cars and vans in the lot. The part Preston wanted him to clear out were the Mole Rats, a good and safe (enough) way for Dogmeat to get his hands (paws?) dirty.

There were about seven of them, digging around and jumping out randomly, charging at them. Bucky’s pretty sure the creatures he hates the most are Bloodbugs, Stingwings, and Mole Rats. In the middle of the lot was a small pond with barrels of radioactive waste. Once he got rid of all of those factors, he went to set up the beacon. The second he did it, he got a bad feeling, so he turned it off right after turning it on. Preston needed to know if he turned it on, so at least he could say ‘yes’ without lying.

He and Dogmeat wandered and explored the place. The building with the cafe and the projector was half-destroyed, one side almost completely torn off and on top of a wrecked car. There were about a billion traps and frag mines inside, that if it weren’t for his fast reflexes, he and Dogmeat would be dead. In the top room, where the movie projector was a skeleton on a singular mattress next to a 10mm pistol, purified water, a toolbox on a small table and a suitcase. Besides that and the food downstairs, there was nothing else.

They went back to Preston to tell him of the finished job. “What now?” Bucky asked.

“I’ve gotten word about a settlement that’s being threatened by Raiders. I’ll mark it on your map. Go find out what they need. We could use more settlements supporting our cause,” Preston responded, then continued on his way past Bucky.

Besides the situation at the Drumlin Diner and the fight at the drive-in, the day was pretty quiet and slow, just like Bucky liked it. He has the opportunity to do something, but he decided not to. He just...doesn’t feel like it. He and Dogmeat walked around, and even played fetch (he found a Frisbee on the way back from the drive-in) by the lake. Even Cait and Piper joined in.

It was a boring day. Even Cait said so herself. “I wanna do somethin’ more fun than frisbee, yeah?”

Bucky put his hands on his hips. “And _what_ , do you think, is better than playing Frisbee?”

“Wrestling, probably,”

“Oh my God, Cait. We’re not wrestling,” Piper said.

“Then think of somethin’ to do!”

Bucky said. “Baseball?”

“The hell is baseball?” Cait asked.

Bucky put his face in his hands. “Oh my God. Okay, you know what? Dogmeat and I’ll go get something. Just...don’t wrestle. Unless it’s on soft ground,” Bucky said, snickering. He actually thinks it’d be funny to watch someone in this neighborhood wrestle with another.

They followed the road out of Sanctuary Hills once again, and followed it, seeing where it would take them. Eventually, they ran into a trader woman walking with a Brahmin with big bags of items on it’s back. Her name was Trashcan Carla. And, honestly, Bucky didn’t know what he expected. She had three baseball gloves, two baseballs, and a wooden bat. Luckily, Bucky had enough caps for these.

After, he and Dogmeat ran back to play fuckin’ baseball. Bucky was the _best_ at it. Steve would have to either keep score or be a catcher since his asthma was so bad. He invited anyone willing to come play baseball by the lake. And Codsworth was the most excited to join in the activity. They didn’t use the bat, since they didn’t have bases or enough gloves. So they all played catch -- whoever wanted to play at the time -- for awhile.

They played for so long that Bucky didn’t realize that it’s almost dark. His stomach reminded him too. They all had an assortment of food: Blamco Mac and Cheese, Salisbury Steaks and Sugar Bombs. They shared the Nuka-Colas they could find. Everyone did their own thing for a while; Codsworth floating around, Marcy being a lookout, Jun sitting on the ground, willowing in his own sadness.

There were gasps, and wide-eyes looking at him. “What?” Bucky asked. He didn’t realize what just happened until he saw blood. He had been shot in the back. It was a slow day, so there was no need to wear his shield. Nothing big would attack this little community. But now he’s fucked.

He turned around and saw Steve in his black and red suit. Somehow, he was bigger than he last remembered. His blonde hair was dirty and longer than usual. He was armed to the teeth with weapons. Maybe even more than he and all of Sanctuary Hills had put together. Bucky didn’t have a weapon, or a shield, so he just stood there, staring at Steve, who was staring back. He saw that most people had their guns aimed at him. Reflexively, Dogmeat was standing behind his legs, but snarling at him.

“Steve?” Bucky asked. From behind him, Cait gave him a knife. He didn’t know how big it was, probably not enough to do any damage towards Steve, but maybe enough to fend him off. Steve always sucked ass with knives anyway.

“Who the hell is Steve?” Steve asked. All of them stared at Steve. He wasn’t doing anything. All he was doing was aiming his gun at Bucky’s forehead, the others aiming back, presumably at other limbs.

“Do it,” Bucky said.

“Fine,” Steve responded. He quickly reached behind him, then threw a metal grenade at them. It wasn’t lethal; it was a smoke grenade. So no one else could help him. Before the smoke covered his eyes completely, Bucky saw Steve barreling towards him.

In the mist, Steve had managed to make it as hard as possible to fight him. Steve tackled him to the ground. “I’ve heard you’ve been to the Glowing Sea. Is that right?”

Bucky took the knife Cait gave him and stabbed Steve in the back, literally. “Yep. You should give it a try sometime,” Bucky said. He rolled out from under Steve and stood up, waiting and looking around for him. He wasn’t on the ground anymore, so where the fuck was he? Bucky was unarmed now.

The last place he saw the shield was in the house. The knife was stuck in Steve’s back, and he forgot to get it back, so now he’s definitely fucked. “Alright, Steve...where the fuck did you go?” Bucky said, turning around, looking for him. When he heard a gun cock, he stopped moving. He felt the barrel against the back of his head.

“Do it. I dare you,” Bucky said. There’s no way he’d actually do it. And if he tried, Bucky would be fast enough to take it from him. Steve didn’t do anything, which Bucky the chance to take the gun and aim it towards Steve. “If you’re here to kill me, why haven’t you done it already, huh?” Now Steve started walking in circles, not taking his eyes off of Bucky. “Huh?”

“It was never my plan to kill you,” Steve said. His voice was different. Bucky didn’t know what had happened, but the fact that they managed to change Steve’s voice gave him an uneasy feeling.

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” Steve’s face fell. It became the saddest thing Bucky’s ever seen. Steve being sad is something that pissed Bucky off all the time. There’s no reason for him to be sad. Sure, his life had worsened, but so does everybody elses. And it hurt, since Bucky couldn’t do anything about it (almost) every time.

“Help me, Buck,” Steve said, his voice breaking.

Bucky put the gun down, but kept the safety off. Something strange is going on here. He looked around. If there were Institute spies around. “I’m fucking trying, Steve. You don’t even know. I know what I’m doing now. I’m getting there,”

Steve stood up straight. “Oh yeah? What step are you at right now?”

“What step? I have to find a--” Bucky couldn’t continue, since Steve rushed him. Bucky shot at his heart, but the bullet ricocheted off him, thankfully not at Bucky. Steve tackled him again, and put his knees on Bucky’s hands, so he couldn’t move. Bucky grunted, trying to get away from him. Steve took out a knife, and put it to Bucky’s throat. “I killed your friend--”

“You missed, you fuck,”

Steve chuckled. “Well, I’m not gonna miss this time,” Steve gave him a sick smile. “Tell me, have you missed me?”

Bucky stopped trying to get away from him. He eyed Steve, looking for some sort of emotion, for what seemed like a million years. Bucky almost let his guard down, but managed to keep it up. This is how he’ll die. The one time he lets his guard down. “You tell me,” Bucky responded.

“I’m gonna say ‘yes’. Or wouldn’t have started to come for the Institute,” Bucky rolled his eyes.

“No, I have a synth friend that I need to catch up with. That gal was my best friend,”

“What’s her name?”

“Eve,” Bucky said, the first name to come to him.

Steve pulled back, wide-eyed. “No. No you don’t know her,” Steve said. _Holy fuck you believed that, Steve?_ How many lies and tricks can I fill you up with until you lose your mind?

“Oh, yes I do,” Steve pulled the knife away from Bucky’s throat, and sat normally, albeit still on Bucky’s lap.

“What’s her hair color then?”

“Black. Y’know, I like dark hair. By the looks of it, you’re getting there. Are you tryna make me get the hots for you too?”

“You lie!” Steve said, putting the knife back at his throat.

“Go ask her yourself. I’m sure she’ll say she knows me,” Bucky said. In the time they were speaking, Bucky found his way out from under Steve again. He was never a lefty, but his left arm was metal, so he punched the shit out of Steve’s face, took a knife, and rolled away. In his right hand, he started to flip it, ready to attack. Steve pulled out the same kind.

“I wanna know what’s behind that shit persona you got there,” Bucky said.

“On va voir,” Steve said.

“God, I hate you,” Bucky said. They ran towards each other, and commenced into a knife fight. Even after being with the Institute, Steve’s still shit with knives. Steve gave up with it and threw it at Bucky, who dodged, and it barely cut him. Bucky threw his back, hitting Steve in the chest, even though that must be under five layers of metal. However, Steve’s good at being heavier than most people, which means it’s easier for him to take down a person, physically.

Steve remembered he had an EMP, and threw it onto Bucky’s left arm, making it limp. Steve got back on top, and started strangling him. Bucky’s only hope to stay alive was a weapon or his one hand, which isn’t as strong as both of Steve’s. “ _I thought you were gonna kill me in every way you know I fear,_ ” Bucky managed to get out. That lightened Steve’s grip, if only a little. “ _Intimately,_ ”

“I don’t think you know the definition of ‘intimate’, babe,” Steve said, anger showing on his face. That anger dissipated, and he gasped. Cait had found them; somehow they made it down further down the street than he thought. She had stabbed Steve, Bucky doesn’t know where, though. Enough to get him off of Bucky and go after Cait.

He’s pretty sure she could beat Steve’s ass, but he’d rather test that theory another time when he’s not trying to kill them. Bucky was coughing, and managed to get up, his metal arm still limp. He twisted it to make it tighter and went towards Steve. Two gunshots rang into the air, making the birds fly away, some people gasp, and a distant ‘oh dear!’ from Codsworth. Steve had been shot. But so had Bucky.


	15. The Name Is 'Fuck You'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Courser. "Hunter/Hunted" quest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna know what you guys think about this story so far! Also, the reason it took so long to post was because I saw Infinity War and I've been trying cope (lmao i'm dying inside). I hope you enjoy this one! I hope that it'll definitely make up for the last chapter (where Bucky and Steve fight)

Thankfully, Bucky wasn’t shot through the heart, but he still wasn’t shot in a place that would potentially fuck him up for the rest of his life. Steve was shot in the hand somehow. Bucky didn’t see Cait holding a gun, and Bucky didn’t have one either. Turns out Piper was the one to do it. There was a synth in their neighborhood. It wasn’t a Courser, but it wasn’t the stick version. “S8-74, your mission is over.” It said, it’s voice crackling a little. It walked up to Steve to teleport out of there. Bucky jumped, trying to get a hold of Steve or the synth and be taken to the Institute with them, but he wasn’t close enough. He heard Steve’s pure voice yell for Bucky, then they were gone.

“What the hell, Piper!” Bucky said, still on the ground.

“I had to get him off of you guys somehow!” She said, waving her gun around. Bucky always liked her big gestures, but not when she has a fucking gun in her hand. Everyone (except Marcy) gave him a quizzical and worried look. “What?” Bucky asked. He looked down at the concrete he was kneeling on. Blood was leaking from his wound, and the drops slowly became a pool of blood.

He wasn’t a person who would pass out due to blood, especially his own. He’s had enough injuries and close-to-death experiences that it’s become the smallest problem for him. The bullet from Piper went through Steve’s hand and lodged itself into the scars that fused his skin with the metal of his arm. Part of it had come undone, and it was a nasty sight. Even for Bucky. “Jesus fucking Chr--” Bucky said before falling over. The last thing he saw was Cait, Preston and Codsworth running over to help him.

***

Bucky thought he saw the bright blue light from the Institute’s Relay, but he couldn’t be sure. He was right. There was a small note on the table next to him. He couldn’t pick it up due to his arm, however. He did as much as a whistle as he could, and fortunately Dogmeat heard him. “Can…” Bucky’s voice was weak and crackly due to Steve injuring his voice box. He tried again, slower this time. “Can you...grab the note...please?” Dogmeat smiled and happily obliged. It’s was Steve’s handwriting, albeit a little changed, even though he was right-handed.

_Buck,_

_I’d say I’m sorry from earlier, but I’m not. Even though it wasn’t my fault, I still did it. You’re lucky I didn’t kill you then. But you’re also NOT lucky, since that was practice for me. We’re still watching you, Bucky. We lost you in the Glowing Sea, so we don’t know what the fuck you were doing down there. Was it fun? You’re still alive so I’d like to know. I don’t know how you managed to do it. Or even survive for this long._

_We saw you set up a Recruitment Beacon for your silly little Minutemen. Do you even care about them? The more you have, the more fun it’ll be for the Institute to wipe them out. Too bad we don’t have a simulator for that. That’d be fun to do._

_That reporter friend of yours is a little shit, too. You better watch out for her. Next time she might not be as lucky. Maybe I’ll come for her when you’re all asleep. Can’t protect her when all of Sanctuary Hills is quiet. She’ll be dead before she could even scream for help. Don’t get me wrong, though. This time I’ll kill her slowly. Bullets aren’t good enough for her anymore._

_It’ll be fun to see you again, Buck. I might kill you faster. Or slower. Not when your little shit friends are there to help you. You DID remind me that I said I was going to kill you slowly and intimately. So you got that going for you._

Steve signed off with his new trademark. Bucky never really liked his trademarks, but he never complained about it. Some of them were kind of silly anyway.

_I love you, but you’re fucking dead. I won’t fail next time. I can’t._

_S8-74_

“S8-74?” Bucky looked at Dogmeat. Then he understood. Steve’s birthday. 2048, July 4th. How would they know that though? It’s not like Vault-Tec had every personal detail written down for their residents. _Oh, God_. Are they torturing information out of him? But he knows the drill: state only your rank in the military, last name, soldier tag numbers. Give out no information. It’s what Bucky did, over and over. On that cold, metal table. Repeating the digits of his tag.

“‘I can’t?’” They must be torturing him then. If he doesn’t do his job well, he’ll be unsafe until he gets it right. So far, he’s failed two missions. Failed to eliminate one target. The one wearing a red, white and blue target on his back. That only gives him more reason to not rest until he gets to Steve. But Piper. _Piper_. Now he’s gotta protect _her_. _Again_. Even though she wasn’t Steve’s target. He’s gotta warn someone about this crisis of his. He goes to Preston first. And before he could speak, Bucky told him. “I can’t keep your Minutemen safe,”

“ _Our_ Minutemen, General. The only way we can really be safe would be to take out the Institute. And we’re ready to stand by you,”

Bucky nodded. “Alright. Can you keep a lookout for Piper? I’m afraid Steve’s going to come for her again,”

Preston raised an eyebrow, but didn’t question him. He agreed, and Bucky went to get Nick so they can get that Courser together.

***

The C.I.T. Ruins were just north of Diamond City, across the river. He turned on the radio to the lowest band and heard steady ticking. He saw a small place down the road that may be a settlement. “He could be there?” Bucky asked Nick.

“Let’s go see,”

Turns out, the ‘settlement’ idea of his turned out to be a Raider outpost. The closer they got, the faster the ticking became. Bucky really didn’t feel like having a gunfight right now, so he dodged them and went into the building where the Courser was. It was the Greentech Genetics building, green on the outside. Inside was a foyer, everything strewn about. There was a corpse of a Gunner laying top of the secretary’s semi-circle desk. On the right were stairs that were broken -- completely vertical, so he and Nick went through the door next to the stairs. They went up two flights since the next was filled with rubble. They had to cross through a balcony into the next room. That’s when a voice spoke through the intercom. Bucky and Nick stopped moving, as if they could hear better that way.

The voice was nowhere as bad as Kellogg’s. It was a voice that you’d hear from the Old World. _“The Courser’s on the second floor. Kill on sight. Send reinforcements to the Lobby in there are more.”_

On the balcony was another Gunner bent over the railing. Through the big doorframe brought them to a courtyard on the first floor, and a walkway on top circling the room. There were multiple corpses of Gunners on the floor, and in a window two flights above he could see a laser turret and grenades going off. A Gunner came running at them from the other side, so Bucky knocked him out, making him fall head-first off the railing.

“I _was_ gonna say someone’s coming, but they’re only going to hell now,” Nick said.

“Sorry. War gives you super-soldier reflexes,” Bucky replied, shrugging.

They moved on, and a turret across from them on the right started shooting, and Bucky got rid of it by throwing the shield. He’s glad the Courser wasn’t over there to steal it. To be honest, Bucky is anxious about this guy he has to fight. If he’s like Kellogg it shouldn’t be a problem. But if it was as how he described a Courser, then he’s in for it. They could have better tech than Kellogg, and he was almost the same rank as a Courser.

He also turned off the signal that beeps faster the closer he got to the thing. At least he has a shield and a Nick Valentine. And Steve better not show up, or he’s definitely fucked. But maybe he and the Institute are watching Bucky. They may not, since Steve asked what his next move was. But if they’re not watching him, they must be fucking with Steve. Bucky put his hand over his mouth and tried not to freak out. Every time he’s seen Steve, his appearance had changed. They _have got_ to be torturing him. Or something close. But what’s close to that?

Bucky ran to the other side of the room, and to the left where a Gunner and Machinegun Turret were waiting for him. Down the hallway the other direction was the broken turret. A small room on the left was a small office with file cabinets and an old-fashioned typewriter. He turned the corner of the main hallway, where there was a small pile of desks on one side, and two Gunners armed with grenades, molotov cocktails and Laser Rifles.

When both were over and done with, Nick said, “Didn’t even break a sweat...not that it’s an option,” Bucky chuckled at that. At the end of the hallway on the left were two desks separated by wall. There were file cabinets and boxes with files in them. The voice spoke loudly. _“The Courser is now on the third floor. Reports of the second intruder in the east wing near the courtyard.”_

At the top of the next flight of stairs was a woman Gunner standing around in a bathroom straight in front of them. While he was searching around the bathroom, another came in and started shooting, and Bucky jumped in front of Nick since he had just been shot.

The hallway was completely blocked by desks and chairs, so they went right into a long office, that even had a couch in it. There was a Gunner just standing around, so he was rid of without even knowing what had happened. Another one came in from the furthest door of the room, and a laser hit Bucky on his left arm. Unfortunately, since it’s made of the same material as the shield, he couldn’t reflect the damage back.

Another one was waiting in the hallway. “Gunners!”

“Yeah no shit, buddy!” Bucky yelled back.

“You’re dead!”

 _“Barricade stairwells and hallways if you haven’t already.”_ came the voice.

“Uh, you’re interrupting out shoot-out!” Nick yelled.

At the end of the hallway, where the Gunner was standing, was a rubble ramp up to the next floor. Closer to the Courser. He turned on the Pip-Boy just to see how fast it was beeping. It was kind of fast; not beeping like a time bomb, yet. Up the ramp let to a walkway above the courtyard; straight through to the other side. There was a cryo-mine, which Bucky deactivated before it go off. Up above on the left were three more Gunners. Bucky was able to knock each one off with one throw of the shield.

Across was a kitchen, everything scattered. There was a TV and a first aid kit on the wall. _“We’ve lost contact with sectors two and four.”_

“Sucks to be you, I guess,” Bucky said.

He opened the door, and two Gunners were waiting for them. Not even a problem. Across was a locked door. Inside looked like a scientist’s lab, with ammo on each counter. When he went to the next room, there another rubble ramp waiting for him. Waiting for were more Gunners in another lab-type room.

“I want this one’s head!” A Gunner yelled at Nick.

“You’re gonna have to go through me first, shithead,” Bucky said, smashing the guy’s head against the wall with the shield.

Bucky pulled Nick up. “Thanks,” he said.

Down the hallway was a Nuka-Cola machine, then they had to go right. They made it to the other, higher balcony. There was a terminal on the other side of the doorway, so Bucky ran over to it. He shut off the turrets (the word was “Angus”). Above them was shots and what looked like explosives hitting their targets.

_“Fall back to original positions, the Courser’s nearing the elevator!”_

On the right, the hallway was blocked again so he had to go through the offices on the left. There were three Gunners on the outside. He went through another office, where there was a milk machine and another Gunner.

They went around to the other side of the balcony, which led to a flight of stairs. At the top, the hallway was blocked, so had no choice but to continue up the stairs. At the end of the hallway on the left was a lab-type room, and he could see the traps waiting for him. And that included a Gunner. Who ran into his own trap just to try and kill Bucky. Outside the door was a Gunner Conscript at the top of the stairs, who threw a Molotov Cocktail, and missed by a mile.

After killing him, he had a short amount of time to look around. On the other side of the room was a bathroom with a first aid kit. The other had a terminal that was somehow still working.

Walking through the door, a machinegun turret placed on top of a fallen over file cabinet started shooting, but was no match for the shield. There was nothing on the other side except more empty filing cabinets. On the top of the stairs was a Gunner Conscript. On the right was a regular Gunner. He looked like a new recruit.

They finally made it to the elevator. Almost to the Courser. He checked the radio and it was beeping almost a million miles an hour. _Almost_. The elevator opened up to a room with a giant circular gate holding pipes that probably go up to the roof. They went through the only door, which led to another flight of stairs. Nick hasn’t complained about it like last time in Vault 114. Which was nowhere as bad as this fucking building.

When they got to the top, they heard another smooth voice, like the Courser in Kellogg’s memories. “It’s just a matter of time. Tell me the password,”

A Gunner Conscript spoke, as worried as a Gunner could. “Look, I already told you I don’t have it,” Bucky walked further in to get a better look. “I’ll help you find a way in, but listen, we took the girl fair and square. All we want is a little compensation in return!”

Bucky looked towards Nick and whispered, “They stole a girl?”

“Probably an escaped synth,” Nick replied.

They continued up the stairs towards the Courser. The radio was beeping so fast Bucky was worried it was going to explode right there on his arm.

“You are in no position to negotiate,” the Courser said.

“Okay, okay, let me think,”

“Time’s running out,”

“No! Please wait! You can have the girl, just let me go!”

“Get. Over here,” the Courser shot him, and Bucky stopped walking. The Courser noticed he was there, and started walking towards him. “You’ve been following me. Are you here for the synth?”

“I’m here to pick up an order. Two large pepperoni and a calzone. Name is ‘Fuck You’.”

“If you’re not here for the synth, then you’re here for me. What do you want?”

“And just who is this synth, anyway?”

“A fugitive. Runaway Institute property. I’m shutting her down and bringing her back. You, on the other hand, will die like the rest of them.” The motherfucker pulled out a Stealth Boy and ran around the corner, waiting for him. Bucky had picked up a missile launcher from a Gunner woman on the third floor, and used it against the Courser. He had nine missiles to use against this guy. He got rid of the guy using the missiles, Molotov Cocktails and his own weapon against him. Killing him stopped the Courser Signal on the Pip-Boy.

The Courser’s ‘name’ was Z2-47. The Courser Chip looked like a very tiny Mini Nuke. It was completely silver, and on the top there were red dots. The bottom and top were screwed together with no screws _he’s_ ever seen.

He went over to the synth, who was locked behind a security door. “He...He deserved to die,” she was shaking. “I know you’re not here for me, but...I can’t get out. Not on my own. I’m going to have to trust you to help me,”

“Who are you?” Bucky asked.

“We’ll talk once you open the door. I promise I won’t run. The guard put the password in a toolbox over there under the stairs. Use it to gain access to the terminal and open the door,”

He nodded and walked over to the red toolbox. “How did this guy not notice this?” Bucky asked. He grabbed the Greentech Genetics Password. The password had ten characters.

When he unlocked the door, she almost ran up to hug him. “Thank you. I don’t know what to say,”

“Who are you?” Bucky asked.

“My...Institute designation is K1-98. But I prefer Jenny. So yes, I’m a synth. If you hadn’t already guessed. I knew they’d send a Courser. I just didn’t think he’d find me so fast. I think I would’ve lost him, too. But then I was captured by these...mercenaries. And all this happened. Thanks again for your help. I’m going to look for supplies before heading out. And before you ask, no. I don’t need any more help. The Commonwealth is unforgiving. I need to make it on my own or I’m dead. Maybe we’ll meet again, under better circumstances. I...hope we do.” She ran out, thanking him again.

Bucky held out the Courser Chip. “What now?”

“Amari.” Nick said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for getting this far! Tell me what you think!
> 
> tumblr: captainsmeesh  
> come see what the fuck is up
> 
> :)


	16. The Weakest Password Ever Created in History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally(!) get to meet my favorite companion, after Steve comes back from what seems like the dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to remind you guys that I'm grateful you're reading this! I'm trying to write as fast I can, too. (Comment and tell me what you think/what should happen soon)

Bucky wouldn’t think in a million years that he’d hear the words “Dr. Amari”. He’d heard about a million names starting with the title “Doctor.” Dr. Erskine, for example. The one who made Steve into a super-soldier. A weapon. For Bucky. For America. For the Institute. A weapon. _Against_ Bucky. _Against_ the new America they’ve been thrust into. For the Institute.

He’s sitting at the kitchen table (he had fixed all the furniture in his own home -- some were lopsided). The chair he was in was the closest to the backdoor. “Crazy how memories are a thing, huh, Codsworth?”

“Yes, sir. Oh, how I do miss Mr. Rogers.”

Then, Bucky could see Steve sitting across from him like he had over 200 years ago. Where he proposed. The whole house was clean. As clean as Codsworth’s work. Steve was clean. He looked brand new. He looked like _his_ Steve. No dirt or long hair. There’s no such thing as the Institute, no Kellogg, no Amari, no Dogmeat or Nick or Piper or Cait or Preston. And no Minutemen. At least in the condition they’re in now. _Broken._

But here, in front of him, is crystal clear and completely put _together_ instead. Kind of like a glass. He looked behind him. The grass was green; the fence in the backyard wasn’t almost completely destroyed. His home was pristine, and he could hear his neighbors going about their day outside.

He was suspicious about this. All because _S8-74_ ’s letter and the Courser Chip are laying right in front him, between his hands that are flat on the table. _Is this Steve across from me going to jump across the table and slit my throat?_

He can’t look around to speak to anyone but this Steve across from him. He can’t speak to Codsworth, or even Dogmeat that somehow has a telepathic link with him. He’d know what to do if Bucky said the word.

Bucky put his head to one side and this Steve of his mirrored his actions. Even though this might be a dream, Bucky moves his hands over the letter and Chip, for safe keeping. He eyed Steve, squinting on purpose, and Steve did the same. Bucky looked to his left, as if Dogmeat was there. But he wasn’t so this could be done only by him. “What did you mean, ‘I can’t’?” Bucky asked.

Steve looked at Bucky, the chip, the letter, back to Bucky, then his hands that were flat on the table. Steve didn’t respond. “The only time ‘I can’t’ and Steve Rogers in the same sentence would you not giving up to fighting a guy in an alleyway, or that you can’t let anyone down. _Anyone_ ,” Bucky gasped, and Steve gave him a confused look. “You can’t get away from the Institute. You _can’t_ come home. Oh, Steve. Come home?” He put his hand out for Steve to take, the other still tightly holding the letter and Chip.

“ _I can’t_ ,” Steve said, looking at Bucky’s outstretched arm. Bucky moved it back a little. Steve had a look on his face telling him he could rip that...thing right out of his shoulder.

“Why not?”

“It’s up to _you_ ,” Steve said. Classical music played from the radio by the working TV. He held out his arm this time. For a dance.

“ _No_ ,” Bucky said, getting himself and his possessions away from Steve as much as he could. “I can’t trust you,”

Steve gave him a look. Not at the letter or the Chip, but at _Bucky_. Like he had a secret to tell. Bucky looked at his stuff, then Steve’s outstretched arm, begging for him for a dance. Bucky got up slowly, keeping an eye on that fucking Courser Chip. “I’m not gonna take it, I promise. I don’t even know what it is,” Steve said, taking the lead.

“You...you _don’t_?” Bucky said, letting Steve move his arms to the right positions.

“How would I?”

Bucky pushed himself away from Steve. He knows this game by now. “You’re with the Institute. In my dreams…” Bucky said, then he looked down. “ _How could you?_ ” He said softly, backing away.

Steve put his hands up. “Look, Buck, I don’t know what the fuck this ‘Institute’ is. I don’t know why you think this is a dream. I just like dancing with you,”

“You hate dancing,” Bucky said, still not looking at Steve.

“Only when it’s not with you,” Steve said, coming closer, his hand out for Bucky to take. Bucky eyed it suspiciously, then Steve. “Are ya gonna promise that you’re not gonna slit my throat or somethin’? I’m _done_ fighting you,”

“Why the _fuck_ would I do that?” Steve said, horrified. Bucky tried to get out of Steve’s grasp, but he always forgets how strong this man is.

“Because you’re a spy! Almost as bad as a Commie! You’ve been sent to kill me and I’m alone. Great,”

“A...a _Commie?_ How _dare you_ , James Buchanan Barnes,” Steve said, not letting Bucky’s eyes move anywhere -- _anywhere_ \-- else.

“The fuck you gonna do about it, huh?”

“Y’know, Commies liked to make everything slow. A 10 year fight in Alaska? Sheesh,” Steve let go of Bucky. “The only way you’re gonna die is next to me. _AND_ , it would _NOT_ be my fault,”

“If only, Steve,” Bucky said, nudging past him, taking the letter and Chip off the table and locking himself the bedroom. Steve had the strength to bust down that door with one try, but all he did was knock gently.

“Talk to me, Buck,” Steve said, his ear against the door. Even though the super-serum advanced all of his disabilities, he never trusted his ears. It got him to find Bucky covered in his own blood and snow, his arm a complete disaster.

“All this is a memory, Steve. A dream. It wouldn’t matter,”

“Then why does it feel real?”

“ _BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW YOU’RE DREAMING!_ ”

_That_ shut Steve up. _The fuck is that supposed to mean?_

“Oh yeah?”

The way Bucky interprets that tone of his, he feels like something’s about to happen. He tried to find the best place to hide the letter and Chip, and do so quietly. There’s an air grate almost under their bed -- _his_ bed, now -- and it’s barely deep enough to hide his things. He thinks he’s going crazy obsessing over these two objects. But they’re the most important things he’s got to get to Steve. And not the one on the other side of the clean, white door.

“Yeah,” Bucky replies, sitting on the floor in front of the grate, just in case Steve comes bursting in to get to it. Hopefully he has no clue that there was one in the first place, when he first got here over 200 years ago. “It’s been over 200 years, Steve. The world doesn’t look like this anymore,”

“Buck, are you goin’ crazy in there?”

“I’m telling the truth,”

“You’re a better liar than I am, so how can I believe you,”

Bucky sighs loud enough for Steve to hear. “Did you see that thing in front of me on the table?”

“Yeah, what the hell was that?”

“I can’t tell you. But it’s from _my_ time, Steve. Where we’re not together. Where our lives have been torn apart, and you have nobody. Not even me,” Almost a minute of complete silence goes by, and he can hear Steve trying to keep himself together. The only time he’d ever cried in front of anyone was when Sarah died. That includes Bucky. His best friend since they were barely toddlers anymore.

“How can you say all this?”

“Because it’s the truth. If you have anything to say that this isn’t a dream, I’d love to hear it,” Bucky said. He had been looking at the shadow of Steve underneath the locked door.

“Like what?”

“Something I don’t know. That I could _never_ know,” Bucky said, since he catches anything that goes around him. Like the way Steve and Peggy used to look at each other. “Okay, um…” Steve says slowly, thinking hard. Even he knows that Bucky catches everything around him. “I went back to that tree, remember? Carved our initials into it. So everyone that saw it would know,”

Bucky looked up from looking at the door. “Really?” He asked quietly.

“Yeah. I saw that _you_ wanted to, so _I_ did it instead,” he could hear Steve’s head press against the door. “And that you didn’t care about the girls you set me up with ditching me the first five million times,”

_That_ made Bucky feel guilty. Probably the only thing that made him guiltiest. He hated that none of the girls would stay with him for no longer than five minutes, but still, he tried. And, when he brought girls home, he felt worse every time. Thinking back on it, he bets that Steve never got any sleep on those nights. Even though they were the most tiring for both of them. _Especially_ Bucky. And none of the neighbors really _liked_ them, so Steve probably never asked to crash at their place for the night. And they definitely didn’t have enough money for a motel, especially for almost every weekend. That made him feel guilty too. That the kid couldn’t sleep in his home, for fuck’s sake.

“I still feel horrible about that. Completely and utterly _horrible_. Thought you had it every time,” and he did. The girls would sit and pretend to have a conversation with him; even fake a laugh or two. Then leave. Leaving Steve in the corner by himself. And no one walked over to start a conversation with him, either. He never wanted to dance either, with those two left feet of his.

“Do you still think this is a dream?” Steve asked quietly.

Bucky had to think about that. Steve had no idea, but Bucky did. He wouldn’t dream about having a Courser Chip with a letter from a _synth_ in an air duct under the bed.

“Yes,” Bucky said, putting his face in his hands and trying to keep it together. He wished it wasn’t. He wished with all his heart and might. “Tell me something else. Please,”

“Okay,” Steve said. “The first time you got with a girl -- Jennifer Neil -- in the fifth grade together--”

“I remember that,” Bucky said, sitting up straighter.

“That’s when I realized I wanted _you_ ,” Steve said. Bucky knew he was blushing and fiddling with his fingers on the other side of the locked door. “ _No one else_. Told my ma. She wasn’t mad or nothin’. Just wanted me to be happy, y’know?”

“I know,” Bucky said, agreeing.

"Took fuckin’ long enough for you to get the clue,”

“ _Sorry_ ,” Bucky said. They were silent for a moment. “‘Member when I asked you why you followed me into war?”

“Yes,”

“Why?” They both knew this was a test, so Steve tried his best at not fucking it up.

“For my country. Then Peggy told me your division got captured. She helped me get there. For _you_ ,”

Bucky looked up ahead of him. _Didn’t know_ that _one_. “Are you for real?”

“Yes. I would’ve walked there for you, but she and Howard took me there; well, as close as possible,”

Knowing that, Bucky liked Peggy more, but felt more guilty about being jealous of her _stealing_ (in his own words) Steve. He always _did_ respect her, at least. Bucky wondered if she survived Alaska, or the bombs, or both. She wouldn’t be alive in _Bucky’s_ new world, that’s for sure. He thought she had lived a life; doing her best, at all times. Even when he, Steve and the Howling Commandos were at a bar and she walked in, thinking he lost Steve, just because of how _beautiful_ she looked. If Bucky was dead, they’d be a perfect match. But thankfully, he’s alive and also lived a life. And now is living a new one, without a Steve to love.

“Are you fucking me, Steve?” Bucky asked, turning his head towards the door.

“No. Wanted to physically, but no. Not fucking you in either sense,”

“ _What?_ ” Bucky asked. He looked at the vent, then courageously got up and opened the door, Steve falling backwards onto his feet. “ _What_ the _fuck_ did you just say?”

“I wanted you physically. I know you still have better hearing than I do,” Bucky tilted his head. Steve was still laying on Bucky’s feet, looking up at him.

“‘Kay, but you said _‘wanted’_ , so try again,”

“Listen here, _jerk_. What I just said was true...but after all that I just felt like it wasn’t worth it,”

“Worth what?” Steve was silent for a moment. He looked like he was starting to blush. “Well...I guess you could you were... _dirty_...I guess?” Bucky looked at him, confused. Steve sighed. “That you were with those girls first instead of me,”

Bucky’s eyes widened. Steve didn’t get up, and also didn’t break eye contact. “Well...you’re asexual, so thanks for telling me _too late_ ,”

“What the fuck was I supposed to do?!” Steve said, getting up, putting his back against the wall across from Bucky. “Shout it from the rooftop while you were walking down the sidewalk towards me?”

“I’d kick your fucking ass if you even got up there in the first place,” Bucky said, crossing his arms against his chest. Steve tried to get past Bucky into the bedroom, so he went to the smaller room and opened the window. “I’M IN LOVE WITH BUCKY BARNES AND YOU CAN’T STOP ME GODDAMIT!”

Someone that was outside yelled, “NICE!”

“Would you’ve done that in Alaska?” Bucky asked. Steve looked at him and smirked.

***

They were in Alaska, just like it was before Bucky got captured and when Steve first arrived, looking like a god.

“‘Kay, this _has_ to be a dream,” Bucky said. Steve walked away trying to find the highest point so everyone could see him.

“I’M IN LOVE WITH BUCKY BARNES AND YOU CAN’T STOP ME GODDAMIT!” Everyone looked at Steve, then Bucky, then back at Steve. There was silence. From further away they could hear Dum Dum yell, “HELL YEAH!” Bucky could see Peggy nodding and smiling at the both of them.

***

They were back in Sanctuary Hills. “Why the _fuck_ would you do that?” Bucky asked, pushing Steve away.

Steve shrugged. “Gotta let the people know,”

“ _‘The people’_?” He put his head down, but Steve lifted it back up, forcing him to look into his beautiful blue eyes. “What if I had died before you got to me? Still love me then?” Bucky asked. What would Peggy do? Would they still have a life together like Steve’s always wanted? Or would Steve live out his years alone?

Steve looked surprised. “I’d love you ‘til the end of time,” Steve said. He looked at Bucky’s arm. “No matter what,”

“Even if I died and you couldn’t do anything about it?” Bucky asked.

Steve’s eyes became wide. Bucky turned away from him. “Why are you asking these horrible things?”

“I _want_ to know,” Bucky said. “If I died and you spent the rest of your life with Peggy, would you still love me?” Steve didn’t answer right away. Bucky turned towards him. “Huh?!” Steve opened his mouth but didn’t say anything. Just kept exact eye contact. Neither of them moved. “ _Huh?!_ ”

Bucky was gonna push Steve away from him some more, but Steve grunted and moved forward (almost ran) to kiss Bucky. When he pulled away saying, “Breathe. Get with the program, _stupid_ ,” Bucky had stopped breathing, he was so surprised. “Someone told me that my relationship with you is the only thing keep me alive,” Steve said.

“So?”

“ _So_ that _means_ I wouldn’t be alive long enough to have a life with Peggy,”

Bucky looked wide-eyed at Steve. He’d die before having a life without Bucky. “What the-” Steve kissed Bucky so hard that he almost fell over, but Steve caught him. So, in return, Bucky kissed back just as hard. They did that for so long, their bodies made them split apart for some air. Steve smiled as wide as he could, he was so happy.

Bucky smiled back, but started to frown. _This story isn’t over. Steve isn’t here. He’s with the Institute. This must be a simulation of some sort._

“What?” Steve asked.

“We better get on with it. This simulation might come to an end faster than I want it to,”

“Sim--? The fuck are you talkin’ about, Buck?”

Bucky looked at him. “If this ain’t a dream it’s gotta be a simulation. You don’t just go back to Alaska in no more than a second then come back no less than five minutes later. Alaska probably doesn’t even look like that anymore,” Bucky said. He touched Steve’s jaw. “And simulations end. Just like dreams,”

“Then let’s make the best of it,” Steve said quietly.

Bucky took Steve’s face in his hands. “Come back to me. _Please._ ”

Steve frowned and backed up. “If you know where I am, why haven’t you come to get me?”

“I’m on my way. I don’t know how longer it’ll take,” Steve was frowning and out of Bucky’s reach. “Steve, you’re _stronger_ than they are. I can bet that on my pa’s life. If anyone should be mad it’d be me. You can get out of there. I’m still coming,”

Steve hugged Bucky and out his face in Bucky’s shoulder. “From where?”

“The Institute. I’m pretty sure it’s the cleanest thing we’ve ever seen,”

“How do you know?” They pulled apart. “If I said, you wouldn’t believe me,”

“I want to know. This _world_ you’ve said that is different,” Bucky went to the front door. It wouldn’t budge, so he went to the windows and opened the curtains. He couldn’t see anything; like a cardboard box was in front of it. All of the doors and windows were blocked.

“Okay, um...imagine the world on fire. There’s no laws; the place is a mess. You can only trust a few people. You get shot at or attacked daily. My best friend is a dog, for Christ’s sake!” Steve was looking at him weird. “What?!”

“Are you on drugs or something?”

_Oh my God. I’m gonna lose it._ “ _Yeah, Stevie_ , I’m on drugs. I’m on Psycho, Jet. Some other shit I’ve found in the Wasteland. There’s something called PsychoJet. It’s so expensive. Haven’t used it yet,”

Steve put his hands on Bucky’s shoulders and moved so they were at arms length away. “If you don’t stop this, I’m gonna have to be forced to,”

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Steve looked him up and down, up and down. Then pretended he was thinking as hard as he could. Bucky tilted his head, confused as hell. Then Steve picked him and tackled him onto the couch then started tickling Bucky.

Bucky hadn’t laughed this way for the longest time. “That’s not cool Rogers! I’m dying!”

Once Bucky had enough breath, he kissed Steve to stop him. He certainly wasn’t as strong, so he couldn’t him off him. Once he kissed Steve, Steve froze, and when they pulled apart, both of them had mile-long smiles. Bucky hasn’t done _that_ in forever either. “Come back to me,” Bucky whispered. He hugged Steve, pulled him down for another kiss. “ _Please_.”

Steve wore the saddest frown Bucky had ever seen. “I can’t. You know that,” Bucky looked away and almost started to cry. “We both know that it’s your turn,” Steve wiped away the tiny tears and went to whisper into Bucky’s ear. “They’re hurting me, Buck. Please come faster!” Steve gave a long and hard kiss, then was shot in the back by a Courser.

“We’re watching you, James Barnes.” The Courser said, and a blue light flashed all around him, and his house wasn’t clean anymore. He could still feel the warmth of Steve. Then he ran to the bedroom to check if the letter and Courser Chip was still under the air grate under the bed. He almost had a heart attack, since they were safe. If they weren’t there, he’d probably have a heart attack too.

***

_Piper_. If there was a Courser in the neighborhood, Piper would be their next target. He got up, the letter and Chip in his hand, and ran outside to find her. Luckily, she was only across the street from him. He ran over to her. “Piper. The Institute’s coming after you. I’m going to try and protect you. If I could make another shield, I would. Watch your back.”

***

When he and Codsworth got to Goodneighbor they ran straight for the Memory Den. Amari upstairs this time, still working on another terminal.

“Oh good, you’re back. The Glowing Sea. Virgil. What happened?” Amari asked, stepping away from the terminal.

“Do you know anything about decoding Courser chips?” Bucky asked.

Her jaw dropped. “A Courser Chip? You fought a Courser? _Oh my God_. Unfortunately, I can’t help you. I’ve worked on a lot of Synths, but never a Courser. I don’t know what that chip does, let alone how to decode it,” she tapped her finger on her chin, thinking. “ _But_ there are people who might. I work with a group that, well, they’re the only ones I know that even have a chance at cracking Institute security. They’re called the Railroad,”

“Really? The Railroad?” Bucky asked.

"They help synths escape the Institute. I don’t know who they all are. Usually, an agent of theirs just shows up with someone who needs new memories. One of them gave me a code phrase. Said it would help me find them if there was ever an emergency. Follow the ‘Freedom Trail’,”

“Any idea what the code phrase means?”

“I’m not sure, but I remember there was a prewar landmark with a similar name. I’d start there. Hopefully, they’ve placed other clues to tell you where to go after that, hidden somewhere in plain sight. That’s how they think,”

“Alright. I’ll find them. Thanks,”

“Good luck. I’m sorry what I have is so cryptic, but hopefully you can figure things out as you go,”

***

Turns out, the ‘Freedom Trail’, as it’s called, has a part right outside Goodneighbor, going northeast. There’s buttons on the ground, and spinning them shows him a letter. The Freedom Trail leads right to the Old North Church, with a statue of Paul Revere holding up a sword and riding a horse.

Inside, the pews are scattered, and there’s sleeping feral ghouls around the place. There’s a door that leads down to some catacombs, with fewer feral ghouls hanging around. Bucky walks slowly with the shield in front of him and Nick behind.

“I’ll bet you five these people are insane,” Bucky said quietly.

“I think you might be wrong, but alright,” Codsworth replied.

They moved forward down the hallway. “Hey, Codsworth?”

“Yeah?”

“Did I ever tell you I hate places like this?”

“No, you didn’t. Just stay calm. I’m right here,” Bucky nodded, and eventually they made it to a part of the wall that sticking out, with a giant circle with random letters. Bucky moved the circle back and forth to spell “RAILROAD”.

“That is the weakest password I’ve ever known. These people better be as smart as Amari said,” Bucky said.

When they walked through the doorway, lights turned on, and he saw a woman holding on a minigun of the left, a strong-looking woman in the middle, and a guy in blue clothes aiming at him. “Stop. Right. There,” the woman in the middle said. “You went through a lot of effort to arrange this meeting. But before we go any further, answer my questions. Who the hell are you?”

“Why don’t you tell me _you_ are first?” Bucky said

“In a world full of suspicion, treachery, and hunters -- we’re they synths’ only friends. We’re the Railroad. So answer my question,”

_Jesus._ “I followed the Freedom Trail looking for the Railroad. I’m not your enemy,”

“If that’s true, you have nothing to fear. Who told you how to contact us?”

“Doctor Amari told me how to find you,”

The woman nodded. “Last question. Why are you here?”

“I found a Courser Chip. Can your people decode it?”

“You have _what_? This is _not_ a joking matter,”

A man wearing a white shirt, black sunglasses and had black hair came up behind them. “I didn’t know we’re having a party! What gives with my invitation?” He turned towards Bucky. “Oh, I see you invited the Courser-killer. _Nice_ ,”

The woman in the middle turned towards him. “Deacon, you’re late. You’re saying this intruder actually killed a Courser? Single-handedly? That’d give even Glory a run for her money,”

“News flash, _boss_. This guy is kind of a big deal. If you’re done interrogating him, you _might_ want to show this Courser-murdering machine a little courtesy. Just a thought,”

The woman turned back to Bucky. “I owe you an apology. Anyone who kills a Courser is good in my book. I’m Desdemona and I’m the leader of the Railroad,”

Bucky sighed. “Who are you people exactly?”

“In a world of suspicion, treachery, and hunters -- we’re the synths only friend,”

“Yes, I think you mentioned that before,” Bucky said.

Deacon cut in. “Dez, we need to let him in. He’s got a _Courser Chip_ , for God’s sake. And look! He’s _Captain. America_ ,”

She turned towards him. “ _That_. Violates our security protocols,”

Deacon waved his hands around to try and change Desdemona’s mind. “To hell with that! He killed a Courser! There’s no way he’s working for the Institute,”

Desdemona sighed and pointed at Bucky. “We’re letting you into our headquarters. You’re the first outsider ever to be given this privilege. We’ll discuss the details about your Chip inside,” Desdemona started walking back into where she came from.

Bucky put the shield on his back, and tried to talk to Deacon, but the guy wouldn’t say anything, so he shrugged and followed. They walked through an even darker tunnel to a dark wooden door. The first thing through the door were steps.

“Decoding a Courser Chip is a very delicate operation. A million things can go wrong -- the least of which is losing the data,” Desdemona said. Their HQ was weird: there were rocky caskets, for fuck’s sake. “Fortunately, we have the right man for the job."

She walked up to a black man wearing overalls and giant, weird contraption on his head. It reminded Bucky of putting tin foil on your head so the government/aliens wouldn’t get into your mind. Steve had gotten him to do when they were kids. It took Bucky four months to figure out that that idea was just a joke.

“Hey, Dez. You need something?”

“Tom. Our visitor here has a Courser Chip,”

Tom got excited. “Whoa? For real?! Oh man, it’s been ages,”

“Right. Some ground rules. Tom can get you the code, but once he’s done we get the Courser Chip,” Desdemona said to Bucky.

“Why do want the Courser Chip?” Bucky asked.

“Institute tech is _light years_ beyond what we have. And a Courser Chip is top of the line,” she said. Bucky tried not to look at her suspiciously. “I’m not going to get into the details. But that Chip could help is save lives. Maybe throw a wrench in some of the Institute’s operations. _So_...hand over the Chip,”

“Fine, fine. It’s yours,” Bucky said.

“Alright, Tom. Make it happen,”

Tom rubbed his hands together in excitement. “Alright, little Courser Chip. Let’s have the circuit analyzer take a crack at you. We’re in!Chip accessed. Just poke the analog connectors a little…”

“Do you know what the fuck he’s talking about?” Bucky whispered to Codsworth. Codsworth shook his head. Bucky frowned.

“What? Oh, man. Don’t crash! Hold it together!” Tom said. He nodded. “Here it comes! Encrypted algorithms. Alright. We’re still running,” after a moment, Tom groaned. “Oh, man. They’ve added more decimals to the last cipher. This is gonna be...C’mon baby, show me that pattern. Where is it?”

Tom put one of his hands up in hallelujah. Wait...they’re using the same logarithmic function as the the key generator. Oh, man we got lucky. I got you, you Institute bastard. I got you. Solve for N. Come on, show me that sweet base number. And...we got it! We got the code! Hahaha. Let me load that onto a holotape for ya,”

Bucky looked at Codsworth confused, and Codsworth shrugged his arms, just the same. He went to talk at Desdemona, who turned towards him. “If we’re going to be dealing more with each other, I need to make sure we’re on the same page. You know what a synth is, right?”

Bucky tried to not roll his eyes. “I’ve heard about them. What are they _really?_ ”

She put her hands on her hips. “The Institute created them. Synthetic humans. They’re mostly organic, part machine. Somewhere along the line they became more than just constructs. They think, they feel, and they act just like you and me. The Institute treats synths as _property_. As _tools_ ,”

Bucky put his hand over his mouth. “ _Steve_....” She looked at him weird, but didn’t ask. He took a deep breath. “Why does the Institute treat them that way?”

“They’re playing God. Tinkering with things they don’t fully understand. From that lofty vantage, it’s easy to deny their creation’s very humanity,”

“Sounds like slavery,” Bucky said without missing a beat.

Desdemona nodded. “Exactly,” she gestured around them. “So we seek to free the synths from their bondage. Give them a chance at a real life,” _I have to go with these people_ now. “I have a question,” Desdemona continued. “The only question that matters. Would you risk your life for your fellow man? Even if that man is a synth?”

“I risk my life for people every day. Makes no difference to me if it’s a human or a synth,” Bucky said, thinking about Steve.

Desdemona nodded. “Someone with your skills, your beliefs, normally we’d try and recruit you. But right now we don’t have time to train up a new agent. There are, however, other valuable ways you can contribute. And, in turn we can help you. See Deacon for details. You’re free to go,” she said, and walked off.

 

Deacon was still standing where Bucky had left him: close to the doorway by the tunnels. “Hope you didn’t mind the reception. When you tango with the Institute you got to be careful when someone new gets on the dance floor,” he said, pushing up his sunglasses.

Bucky shrugged. “Your leader was just being cautious,”

“And you can’t be too careful these days,” Codsworth cut in.

“Exactly. Kind of killed our chance at a friendly first impression, though,” Deacon said. “But it’s all good now. I vouched for you. Nobody got shot. Still, I would consider it a close personal favor if you didn’t sell us out to the Institute. Thanks,”

Bucky looked at him closely. “So tell me. Why did you vouch for me?”

“In our in little outfit, it’s my job to know things. And with everything you’ve done it’s clear you’re capable. A dangerous enemy. And, I’m betting, a valuable ally,”

“But why the trust? You can’t be taking it all on faith,” Bucky said.

“I don’t know if we can trust you. But I hope we can. We just survived a hell of a crisis. So we may be just a teeny, weeny bit desperate for new members,” Bucky looked at Codsworth, who simply looked back. “If everything was sunshine and bottle caps, we’d probably play a longer ‘getting to know you’ game. But we don’t have that luxury,”

“Really? Is that all?”

“You just don’t give up, huh? Alright, I have a short list of people I think would be a good fit for our family. You piqued my interest, so...maybe I asked around. Did my homework. If you hadn’t found us, there’s a chance I would’ve found you instead. Thanks for saving me the trip. So Dez wants me to make you a ‘tourist’. That’s what we call someone who helps out with the odd job here and there. What a waste,” Deacon then pointed at him. “I’m just going to come out and this: the Railroad needs you,”

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “You sure you need me? Desdemona didn’t seem to care,”

Deacon waved his hand, as if clearing the air of that idea. “She’s just thinking of time and manpower it would take to train you. And if you were some hick from the burbs that didn’t know your ass from a rocket launcher, she’d be right. But I’m betting someone like you just needs a few pointers and a target,”

Bucky nodded. “You got my attention,”

“I got a job. Too big for me. Just perfect for the two of us. You help me out, we turn a few heads, and then Dez invites you into the fold. Then, if you get into a bind and need help, your buddies in the Railroad got your back,”

“What’s the job?”

“So up front, the only thing I’ll say is it’s going to be a wild and dangerous ride. But probably nothing new for someone like you,”

“Sign me up, then,”

“Perfecto! Let’s meet up at the old freeway outside Lexington. I’ll fill you in once you get there,” Deacon said. Bucky ran out of the catacombs as fast as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for continuing! 
> 
> tumblr: captainsmeesh  
> come see what the fuck is up
> 
> Deacon and Hancock are my favs what about you?


	17. Doughnuts Are Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> he does the mission 'Tradecraft'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! This one's short bc I'm tired and Dr. Carrington is a shithead, so.

Going out with Deacon sounded fun, but Bucky had made a promise. And promises come first. And that promise came with more difficulty than he’d love not to have. His promise was for Virgil. Who’s on the other side of literal Hell. Bucky honestly wonders if Kellogg could track him down before dying from creatures and mutants, or just radiation poisoning itself. Can’t fast travel to a place you don’t know about.

He went to Diamond City to get chems from Solomon (he still has plenty from last time, but better safe than sorry). He also went down into Fallon’s Basement. A small clothing shops with only a few clothes racks. And on the cashier’s table was a Hazmat suit. That Power Armor of his was way too heavy for him; he couldn’t run fast enough. Even though it’s tougher than a Hazmat suit, he’s good at dodging what comes at him. Especially without fifteen million tons on his shoulders.

 

Bucky stopped at the edge of the Glowing Sea, just like last time. There was no enemies in sight, but that doesn’t mean he’s not as anxious since the last time. He wonders if he can actually survive in this Hazmat suit he’s wearing. He definitely has a game plan this time. To stay as close to the mountains -- steep rubble from the crater (he calls them mountains. What else would you call it?).

He sneaks just behind the bush line towards the mountains southwest. He stops every time he hears something, waits a minute, and continues on. When he’s as close as he can get, he puffs air out, gaining the courage to stay alive. And to keep his promise. He does a 360, looking out for any potential danger. He waits one more minute before deciding to go for it.

The first thing he runs into is a pack of Feral Ghouls standing around a small pool of green radiation. Bucky now knows he need to _run_ , since those things are _fast_. They shouldn’t be allowed to be that fast. Those motherfuckers probably gives Bucky the most anxiety. Not a giant Deathclaw or Rad Scorpions. Not a Courser, either. Feral ghouls. Those things almost have the same fast reflexes Bucky does. They also travel in...packs. You get hit once, you’re done for.

He gets to steep hill and gets a breather and watches the Ghouls try and jump up and try to get him. _They shouldn’t be able to jump, either_. From here, he can almost see the Children of Atom’s home. Once he calms down (maybe wait for the Ghouls to give up), he’ll try and make a beeline for it. And if anything comes after him when he gets near, the Children will help him. Or at least help their ‘home’.

He gets there, remotely safely (there’s nothing in the Glowing Sea that’s safe). And takes another breather. Being near that cesspool of radiation almost makes him want to throw up. He feels like he’s turning green. Luckily, he’s still _him_. He stands up at the top of the peak looking down on Virgil’s cave. He looks down his scope and looks but doesn’t anything. He does another 360, doesn’t see anything, then decides to book it to Virgil’s cave.

When he gets inside, he sees Virgil at a stove (how he got one in here is still a big mystery to Bucky).

“Hey,” Bucky says, taking off the Hazmat suit’s helmet.

“Wasn’t sure I’d see you again,” Virgil said, turning around to look at Bucky. “You managed to get what you need?”

“I have the code,” Bucky replies.

“Suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. You did get rid of Kellogg, after all. Not too much of a leap to take down a Courser. How’d you manage to get it decoded?”

“The Railroad helped me,”

“Oh god, those kooks? I would’ve expected they’d be too busy trying to liberate vending machines, or setting computer terminals free, or…” Bucky tried to stifle his laughing. He was glad that Deacon was there, let alone _anyone_ from the Railroad. Virgil put his hand up. “Sorry. They just have something of a reputation. You’re not the only one who’s been busy. I did the best I could, from memory and things I’ve overheard through the years. Came up with some schematics for you. Wasn’t easy; these hands is _ridiculous_. Fine motor skills have gone to shit,

“Here’s the simple explanation: you need to build a device that will hijack the Institute’s uses to teleport Coursers, and send you instead. You know the craziest part of the design? That classical music station... _that’s_ the carrier signal for the relay. All the data’s on harmonic frequencies...you’ve been hearing it all along,”

“Oh, shit,” Bucky said.

Virgil nodded. “I want to be clear that this isn’t my area of expertise. I was Bioscience, not Engineering or advanced Systems or anything,”

Bucky tilted his head, confused. “Bioscience? Advanced Systems?”

“Divisions within the Institute. Specialized groups working on various projects. It’ll make sense later. But if you can build this device, and make use of that code, you should be able to override the signal from the Institute’s relay. Can you? I mean, can you build it? You have people that can help? This is a lot for one person, even _you_ ,”

Bucky sighed. “This device, this will get me into the Institute?”

“Yes, if built correctly. And please get it right. You have to make it in there, for both our sakes. And don’t you forget our agreement. I’ve helped you as best I can. If you make it there, you find that serum. It’s my only hope for ever being...normal. So you find it. Now go on, take these and get to work. You do whatever it takes; call on whoever you know to help you.”

***

He finds Deacon standing underneath the freeway near Lexington and _oh my God_.

“The fuck are you and what’d you do with Deacon?”

“Like this disguise? It’s wastelander camo,”

“Oh my God,” Bucky said, chuckling. This guy is _crazy_. Bucky kind of likes it.

“‘This is _my_ pile of garbage, asshole. Back off.’ Good, right? You’re lucky I didn’t do one of my swaps,” Bucky chuckled then stopped. “You can change your face?”

“I put myself under the knife every year or two. New face, new body -- you know, the full makeover. It keeps our enemies guessing,”

Bucky rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, “I almost didn’t recognize you,”

“That’s the point,”

“Feel like I should change,” Bucky said, looking at himself. He had his full Captain America outfit on. “Should I hide the shield? Color it blue?”

He bet Deacon rolled his eyes over his dark sunglasses of his. “ _So._..about the job. The Railroad’s only recently been using the Old North Church. Our old base was underneath a Slocum’s Joe. We had a pretty sweet setup until the Institute found us,”

“You lived underneath a doughnut shop? That sounds so cool,”

“Well, it was a disaster with a capital D. The survivors didn’t have time to grab anything. So we’re getting something important we had to leave behind,”

“What exactly are we looking for?”

“I’ll tell you when we get inside. I know that’s a bum deal, but strategic ignorance has saved our organization more times than I can count. We got a tourist nearby. He, or she, has intel on the base. So let’s pump him for information before we dive in. For now, I’ll take point,” Deacon said, walking east.

He talked while they were walking. “So, I’m looking for Railsigns. Symbols we use to send messages to each other,” he said, beginning to walk up a fallen over piece of the freeway. “If you like that, we got signs and countersigns, dead drops, and even a secret handshake. Alright, maybe the handshake never caught on,”

“Who _are you_ again?” Bucky asked following.

“What do you mean?” Deacon asked.

“You’re just wild, man. I’ll take you up on the secret handshake,”

“You will?!” Deacon squeaked. He cleared his throat. “You will?”

“Oh, sure! I love secret handshakes,” He had one with Steve that was so complicated they spent hours on it, getting it right on the first try.

Deacon chuckled, and continued moving forward. “Anyway, the tourist should have a trail left for us,” On the median of the freeway was sun-shape with a certain shape inside. “Here we go. Railsign. The arrow in the center indicates a direction,” Bucky nodded, keeping that as a mental note. “So our tourist is up ahead. Let’s keep going,”

Bucky kept following him, thinking about Steve. _What would_ he _think of the freeway being lopsided? What would he think of this eccentric guy he’s following? What would he think in general? Hopefully he can say...soon._

Deacon stopped, and Bucky ran into him, too in his thoughts. “Dude,”

“Sorry,” Deacon shrugged and pointed the barrel of his gun at a speed limit sign. “Got another Railsign. Right there,” They continued, passing a camp filled with dead feral ghouls. Around the bend of tires and wooden planks came two feral ghouls towards Deacon. Bucky stopped them, and Deacon gave him a ‘thanks’.

He jogged forward to an abandoned bus. “And another. We’re probably close,” The further they walked down, they passed more vehicles. There was a Railsign on one of the buses on the left. Deacon gestured towards it. “See the plus in the center? That means there’s an ally nearby. Our tourist,”

Bucky almost ran into Deacon again. “You take point on the conversation. No matter what he says just say, ‘Mine is in the shop’. Trust me,”

At the very end of the bridge, where it completely fell off was a man standing there, looking into the distance. He had a little camp nearby.

“Oh, thank God. Do you have a geiger counter? Do you have a goddamn geiger counter?”

 _Jesus fucking Christ._ Bucky rolled his eyes. “‘Mine is in the shop’.”

“Who the hell is he? HQ said they were send one agent. Not two,” the man said.

Before Bucky could even open his mouth, Deacon cut in. “Sorry. I’m new. He’s just showing me the ropes,”

The man squinted at both of them. “Alright. The Wall is my witness, I thought I was dead. It’s about goddamn time you headquarters bastards got here,”

“Jesus fuck, man. Tell me what’s going on,”

“I signed on for some light recon. But that little Slocum’s Joe of yours is crawling with goddamn chrome-dome synth sons of bitches. The front’s fortified to hell and back. They’ve place mines all over the goddamn place,”

“They have a minefield?”

“Yeah, the mother of all minefields. I couldn’t draw you a map if I tried,”

Bucky nodded at him. “Thank you. I appreciate it,”

“I hope it helps. I really do. As soon as it’s safe, I’m getting the hell out of here. So if you need anything else, better ask soon,”

The guy turned his back to him, so he went back to Deacon, who was standing out of earshot. “Well, isn’t Ricky just a ray of sunshine. You think he’s telling the truth?” Bucky put his hands on his hips like his ma would when she’d ask him a serious question. “Speaking of truth, why did you lie to Ricky?”

“My job in the Railroad in intel. That job’s easier if no one knows who I am. So I lied. I do that. So you handled the talky talk, and I got to watch from the sidelines. Go team us!”

 _Jesus, this guy_. “Why would Ricky lie?”

“People always got reasons to lie. The Institute could’ve turned him. Or more likely, he’s just seriously pissed off at us. Take your pick,”

“Even though he’s a jackass, he doesn’t strike me as the dishonest type,” Bucky said.

Deacon nodded. “That’s my read, too. First rule in this business is never go against your gut. So if we take him at his word...The front door has mines, synths, and probably other fun and exciting prizes! So we go through the escape tunnel,”

“A _doughnut shop_...has an escape tunnel?”

“Doesn’t everyone have an escape tunnel? Seriously, though, thank god for that tunnel. If it weren’t for that there wouldn’t be any Railroad left,”

“The tunnel has got to be easier than a frontal assault,” Bucky said. He was always better at being sneaky. _Steve_ was the one to go for the frontal assault, because he’s _stupid_.

Deacon nodded. “Easier, but no cakewalk. You lead us there, pal. I got you covered,” _Pal._ Bucky closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _I’m comin’ Steve_. Deacon gave him a weird look, but Bucky knows he wouldn’t judge (maybe). They jogged back from where they came from, and took a right. They made it to two shipping crates, one with Power Armor in a locked cage. Bucky ran past it, not caring. Power Armor isn’t an important thing to stop for.

The escape tunnel was at the bottom of a hill, covered with foliage. Bucky certainly didn’t see it at first, which means the Institute didn’t, which means Bucky and the Railroad got lucky. The was a _door_ , and a light next to it. “That’s not very sneaky, Deacon,” Bucky said, looking over his shoulder.

“At least it worked,”

“True,” Bucky said, stepping through the door.

When they were through, Deacon caught his attention. “The back entrance is safer, but be ready for Gen 1s and 2s. So it’s time you learn why we’re here. We’re retrieving a prototype developed by our good Doctor Carrington,”

“I’m gonna guess the Gen 1s are the stick-type and Gen 2s are the mannequin-looking ones?”

Deacon nodded. “The synths didn’t start off as nigh perfect copies of human beings. The Institute had to work up to that level of hubris. Gen 1s and 2s were stepping stones along the way. The Railroad’s not fully united on how we feel about them,”

“What’s there to be divided about?”

“Everyone wants to liberate the Gen 3s. The human looking synths. Some of the synths in the Railroad, like Glory, think we should help earlier models, too. But Gen1s are basically the same as, well, a Protectron. So the line gets muddy. Do we defend AI rights? Terminals? Hell, turrets?”

Bucky laughed to himself at that. ‘Saving Terminals.’

“Any time it gets brought up: fireworks. All the old arguments flare up. The upshot is Glory and some others won’t run missions like this,”

“Let’s find this prototype, then,” Bucky said, turning back around to head deeper underground a _doughnut shop_.

“Together with you I like our odds,” Deacon said, following. “First step is to override the security lockdown,” They walked forward, and Bucky noticed a gated door with a terminal on the wall, but he couldn’t get through it. Deacon hit his arm with the back of his hand to move him, and started working with the terminal.

"No, no...no…” Deacon said. Bucky watched the door. “Aha, missed one, you cocky bastards. The prototype is deeper inside,” Deacon said, then moved away from the terminal.

Once the door opened and saw a Railroad Agent’s corpse, he put the shield in front of him, crouching.

“Someone left a railsign here. That one means danger. Yeah, we know, you poor dead bastard, we know,” The railsign was on a brick above the body. They walked further in and saw a destroyed turret surrounded by big pipes. Their only option was to go downwards, on a big hill, where he could hear synths.

At the bottom, the floor was partially flooded, and a Gen 1 synth was walking around, next to a destroyed turret and another dead Railroad agent. “Wait. See the box in the center of that railsign -- that means there’s a cache nearby,” Deacon said from behind him. “Looks like Maven made to hide something before...well, you know. Look around,” The cache was behind the Railsign, on the other side of the big pipe.

They walked forward to a catwalk with broken turrets with spotlights on. “Tinker managed to turn on the defenses. Barely slowed down the Coursers down, but hey, it probably saved some lives,” Deacon said.

At the bottom of the hill, were more Gen 1 synths hanging around in a pool of water. He got rid of all three with one throw of the shield, and they feel down at the same time.

“Hey, that was pretty cool,” Deacon said.

Bucky shrugged. “I try,”

The next room was a single construction light next to a broken turret. Going further downwards, they found another Railroad agent dead underneath a terminal. “Another active terminal. We didn’t have time to trip the defenses up ahead. Power them up and we can give our friends a little surprise,” Deacon said.

Bucky went forward, peeking over the corner of the wall. There was only one turret that he could see. Three synths against one turrets didn’t good odds, but it at least got rid of one of them. He took care of the one that came up the stairs to attack him, while Deacon and Piper took care of the other two. (He had gotten Piper after coming back from Virgil’s cave. He couldn’t trust anyone in Sanctuary Hills with her, so he convinced her to come with him. She _might_ be safer. Who knows what’s going on with Steve Bucky knows it’s not good.)

From that room, they had to crouch down and go through a pipe to get to a gated room with synths on the other side. He unlocked the terminal (the word was ‘class’). He unlocked the security door and the synths and humans ran at each other. It led to a big, barricaded room, with a pod overlooking it. There were at least seven synths on the main floor, and three upstairs. They were all Gen 1s. The ones upstairs were Gen 2s.

Deacon stopped him before going into the next room. Bucky put his shield on his back; he couldn’t hear any synths nearby. “Prepare to be shocked: not every Slocum’s Joe has a massive tunnel complex underneath it,”

“I kinda figured that out,” Bucky said.

“We’re entering a secret Defense intelligence Agency research lab. A place that never officially existed. It’s called The Switchboard. The prototype is locked up in the heart of the facility,”

Before they went in, Bucky looked around. There was a Fusion Core downstairs and a Central Terminal he couldn’t unlock. Then, he heard a synth. _Is anyone present?_ Bucky put the shield in front of him, and opened the main doors into The Switchboard.

He opened the double doors, and there was a line of laser tripwires in front of him. He put the shield on his back, careful not to touch anything. He stopped when heard the synth again: _Appears to be nothing. Perhaps my sensors need calibration_.

He continued forward slowly and carefully, disarming each one. Around the corner were about five Gen 1 synths waiting for them. Some used the sandbag barricades that were already set up, others ran at them. By now, he’s learned that lasers are _nothing_ compared to actual bullets. He supposed it doesn’t matter since there’s so many clumps of them.

On the other side were bathrooms with another synth in it. At the very end of the hall was a locked door. On the other side was only a closet with shelves on each wall. _I am no longer detecting an enemy presence._ He didn’t even know there was a synth nearby.

So, they had to go back to the main room to continue forward to get that prototype. They went down the hallway a few steps and five synths were waiting on his left. _You must be terminated_. “Try me,” Bucky said.

Deacon ran forward once the synths were dealt with. Doctor Carrington’s came through an intercom. “Carrington. Stanley. Salus aegroti suprema lex,”

Bucky raised an eyebrow, looking around the room. Deacon was at the terminal. “Open says me,” a giant vault door opened and he ran in, gesturing for Bucky to get in there ASAP. Deacon gave him a small pistol with a silencer on it, called the Deliverer. To get out, they had to take an elevator, powered up only by the terminal next to it. When they got to the top, he had to push open a bookcase to get out, bringing them into the actual Slocum’s Joe (well, the basement).

Upstairs, the first door on the left was for employees only, where there was food with a counter, refrigerator and chairs. _Hello?_ A synth said. Both him and Piper crouched down, the shield in front of them.

In the main part of the diner were synths and turrets. He could see that there were more outside. _By order of the Institute, you must be destroyed_. “By order of _me_ , shut up,” Bucky replied.

Up the stairs were more, and Bucky hadn’t realized Piper wasn’t with him. He nudged her out of the way to throw the shield. It didn’t come back. “Way to go, _smartass_ ,” Piper said.

“Yeah, yeah. You can give me sass later,” Bucky replied, walking up stairs in front of Piper. He got a weird feeling. He had only said that to Steve, all those years ago. But he couldn’t let his thoughts get in the way of what they were doing. Turns out, the shield wasn’t taken by a synth, but just stuck in some rubble. He grabbed it, and he and Piper made their way out of there (Bucky went back for some doughnuts).

***

When he walked back through the door frame of the tunnels in the Church, deacon was talking to Desdemona. He was wearing regular clothes, but was bald. “And the new guy patched me up, put me on his shoulder, and blasted his way through the rest of the complex. Synths everywhere,”

“Carrying you the _whole time_?” she asked, suspiciously.

“Amazing, right?!”

“That’s one word for it,” she turned towards Bucky. “Deacon told me you single-handedly secured carrington’s prototype, disable a minefield, and wiped out a hundred Gen 1s. So, is any of that true?”

Bucky shrugged and smiled his best smile. “Every word he said was true and then some,”

“A full hundred. I...I can’t even imagine,”

“See?” Deacon said, gesturing towards Bucky. “Just like I said, boss,”

“I was expecting Deacon to grab a full team, including Glory, to secure that prototype. “But _instead_ , just the two of you cleared out the entire Switchboard,”

“You’d be insane not to sign him up, Dez,” Deacon said.

“You’ve certainly made an impression on Deacon. He’s never spoken about, or _lied_ about, anyone so highly before. Welcome to the Railroad, agent,”

“Glad to be aboard,” Bucky responded.

“It seems we’re very lucky to have you. So you’re in. Now we need to know what to call you. Secrecy keeps us alive. Code names are a part of that. So what’s yours?”

Bucky smirked. “Charmer,”

Desdemona nodded. “Fitting. Your first official order is to deliver doctor Carrington his prototype and see if he can use another pair of hands. But first, it’s time to meet the rest of the gang,”

Desdemona smiled and walked towards the towards to the HQ. “The location of our HQ is one of our most tightly guarded secrets. So be careful coming in or out; you never can tell when you’re being watched,”

“Just like Deacon,” Bucky said.

She nodded. “Exactly,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this far! Lemme know what you think! (comment, like and subscribe lmao)
> 
> tumblr: captainsmeesh
> 
> deacon is bae


	18. A Saved Synth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Piper get closer, and they help an escaped synth get safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! This one's short bc I don't wanna disappoint you guys for waiting so long for each chapter. Anyway, let me know what you think!

Inside, all the agents were standing around the circular table in the middle of the room. Even an Assaultron. Dr. Carrington looked at him. “It would’ve been nice if she had consulted with her second-in-command, but what’s done is done,” he sighed. “Since you’re here now er might as well put you to work,”

 _Oh my God, this fuckin’ guy._ “What do you need?”

“One of our field agents, Old Man Stockton, needs help with a runaway synth, H2-22. So, headquarters, as always, puts out the fires that others can’t be bothered to put out themselves. The paranoid old bat won’t even tell us the problem, he insists we get out intel from a dead drop,”

“Sounds important,” Bucky said.

From behind him, Deacon was wearing new clothes. “Anything involving Stockton is important,”

“It is. After Switchboard, we’re so short-handed I have little choice but to throw you into the deep end. The dead drop is a mailbox with a railsign on it. It’s a common means of communication for us, so keep an eye out for them. When you make contact with Stockton he won’t give you the time of day unless you give him the proper countersign. The current sign is, ‘Do you have a geiger counter?’ And the counter is, ‘Mine is in the shop’. Please tell me deacon taught you that, at least?”

“You can trust me with this. I’ll get it done,”

“You sound rather convincing, really. Stockton is a prominent businessman at Bunker Hill. The dead drop with be near there. Use the escape tunnel in the back to get there quicker,”

***

Turns out, Bunker Hill was directly across the river from the Old North Church. Bucky swam through it, since it’s not like he’d _die_ , right? At the top of the stairs was a woman watching him get closer. “You there! Caravan or Raider?”

“I’m here on my own,” Bucky replied, turning around, showing her that the only ‘threat’ shown on his person was the shield.

“ _Captain America?_ Alright, come on in, but no gunfire. Market’s open. You can do as much trading as you like,”

“Appreciate it,” Bucky said, going up the stairs, past her. He watched her watch him, looking him up and down. He stopped, remembering about the dead drop, and Piper ran into him. “That shit hurts,”

“Sorry,” Bucky said, looking at her face. You’re not bleeding, so that’s good. We gotta find that dead drop. And it’s not gonna be in here,” Bucky said, taking her arm in his and walking back out, and going around the perimeter of the gated Bunker Hill. If Bucky had taken the bridge like a _normal person_ , he’d see the dead drop right before getting to Bunker Hill. The Railsign was on the side of a mail box.

Behind him came up a giant crab-like thing, which hit the shield, making a loud clunk. “What the fuck was that thing?” Bucky asked.

“Mirelurk,” Piper responded.

“ _What the fuck?_ ” Piper shrugged, and he went closer to the mailbox. Inside was Stockton’s Holotape and caps. He put it in the Pip-Boy and he and Piper listened to it, while walking back to Bunker Hill.

_Update. Observed unusual activity has ceased. Window is open for a heavy to make contact but they should act now. The package is still in my possession. It cannot remain here safely for much longer. Out._

He and Piper looked at each other and ran back to Bunker Hill. They found Old Man Stockton in the middle of the white tower at a makeshift bar. Bucky walked up to him. “Welcome, my friend. Might I ask, do you have a geiger counter?”

“‘Mine is in the shop’.” Bucky replied, making a frowny face.

“You? I was expecting someone of the...feminine persuasion,” Bucky gave him a _look_. So did Piper. “You’re with our mutual friends, yes?”

“That’s right,”

“It’s always nice to make new friends. You’ve just joined, haven’t you? All you need to know is this is the first step for all our new...packages. So maintaining proper security here and preventing any unnecessary delay is crucial,”

Bucky nodded. He knows all about delays. “No one likes delays,”

“And we wouldn’t want to keep anyone waiting,” Piper said.

“It’s bad for business. My current package has been in my possession far too long. I’m supposed to deliver the package to someplace nearby. But Raiders have complicated matters. So if you could…?”

“Easy,”

“I like you already,” he said, nodding. “It’s scheduled to be a night time delivery. So if you can clear out the undesirables before dawn, we can do this tonight. See you soon,”

 

The rendezvous point was only west and _literally_ down the street from Bunker Hill, and Bucky went as fast as he could. The Railroad was depending on him. On the downside, he feels like he has more people to protect from the Institute -- _Steve_ \-- like the Minutemen. On the upside, they don’t know where they are. He doesn’t think that anything like the Switchboard is going to be happening anytime soon. He’s also curious about their operations. At least he’ll know soon enough.

Most of the Raiders were hanging around the porch of a police station, and using the columns as cover. “Still in one piece,” Piper said.

“Glad,” Bucky said, moving forward. Most of his companions have used Dogmeat’s example of being out with Bucky: staying behind him and the shield for protection, especially in a huge firefight. However, Piper is too headstrong to follow Dogmeat’s example until the fight gets as worse as possible. But Bucky still does his best to protect her from the worst. Including Steve. So far, the worst enemy in the Commonwealth is Steve. And those motherfucking Feral Ghouls. _Fuck those things_.

He and Piper continued, sneaking through a playground, then a small cemetery next to the church, where he could hear Raiders. “Whoa, whoa. Shut the fuck up a second. I hear something,” Bucky threw a grenade through one of the broken windows, killing most of them. The others, who were barely alive, were disarmed. There was also a Raiser on top of a tall guard post. Bucky knocked him down with the shield.

He checked his Pip-Boy. _8:43_. He has to wait until midnight for Old Man Stockton to come. Bucky put the shield on his back and his hands on his hips. “What now?” “Don’t ask me,” Piper said, walking around, and sitting on one of the saved pews.

“Spin the Bottle,” Bucky said.

“You’re a fuckin’ weirdo,” Piper said. “There’s only two of us, and you don’t have a bottle,”

“True. Guess we’ll just wait in silence,” Bucky said, sitting on the same pew as Piper, but far away as possible. They listened to the Diamond City Radio, with Travis’ anxious voice talking between songs. “We should really help that kid,” Bucky suggested.

“Good idea,” Piper said.

Bucky sat up. “We’re gettin’ to be good friends, yeah?”

“I guess so, yes,” Piper said turning towards him.

He put in a new holotape. “I’ve never listened to this,” Bucky shrugged. “Hope I don’t cry in front of ya or nothin’,”

It was the holotape Codsworth had given him their first conversation after the Vault. It was Steve’s voice. Bucky gasped. Piper didn’t judge.

_Hi, honey! I_

_’m recording this on my way back from well...you’ll know later. People are givin’ me weird looks but whatever._ Bucky looked at the gold wedding band on his metal finger. _Listen...I don’t think I need to tell you how great of a person you are, but I’m going to anyway. You are kind, and loving (there are people laughing in background in the holotape) and funny, too! (Steve laughs, too. Bucky’s missed that so much.)_

_Look, with Codsworth and us all being home together...it’s been an amazing few months. But even so, I know our best days are yet to come. There will be changes, sure. Things we need to adjust to. But we’ve done that about a million times already, so it’d be a piece of cake. I want some cake now. I should’ve bought some fuckin’ cake...._

_But everything we do...we do it for us. I think we’ve deserved this. I need to figure out a way for you to believe that too. We’re finally back together, right? And SAFE, as you keep fuckin’ sayin’._

_Bye honey! Love you!_

The holotape stops, and Piper looks at him. Bucky’s looking at the wood of the space between them. Piper holds out a hand, and Bucky looks at her. “We’re gonna get him back. I promise,” Bucky takes her hand, and she pulls him in for a hug. “And that includes a dog, for fuck’s sake,” that made Bucky laugh. He hadn’t realized he was sniffling.

They spend a while chit-chatting, nothing important. Then Old Man Stockton comes running into the church behind them. He looked around. “Everything looks clear,” a nervous man came in behind him. “This is H2-22. H2, here’s the person I talked to you about,”

This guy looked like he needed a hug, a blanket, a cup of hot chocolate, a recliner in front of a fireplace, and some _Silver Shroud_ on the radio. Speaking of the Silver Shroud, Goodneighbor had a radio signal of that name. He’d have to go check it out later.

“That’s a strange name,” Bucky said.

“It’s my designation,” H2 said.

Stockton frowned and nodded. “The Institute doesn’t bother to name their property. Synths are just numbers and letters to them. I’ll fire up the signal,” he went to a broken window and lit a lantern. “And...there. Time for me to go. Keep H2 safe. Someone will be here shortly,”

Bucky watched the old man run out of the church, then went over to H2, who was standing awkwardly and anxiously. “From what I’ve been told it’s probably safer if I don’t say anything. I don’t want to put you into any more danger,” H2 said.

“Appreciate the thought,” Bucky replied, giving him a reassuring smile.

“You guys are all...well, no one’s ever stuck their neck out for me. I wanted to thank you. This world is...overwhelming. But people like you make me feel better about coming here,”

Bucky took in a deep breath. He _knows_ he shouldn’t ask, but he has to. “I have a lot of question. About the Institute,”

“That’s precisely what Mr. Stockton said I shouldn’t talk about. At all,”

“Please. If I understand more about the Institute, I may be able to help you, and others, better,”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know much about the Institute. I worked the maintenance tunnels. Every day for as long as I can remember. The only time I spoke to anyone was to acknowledge scientists’ orders and very rarely to other synths. I’ve talked more in the past few days than I have my entire life,”

“Do you know where it is?”

“Stockton already asked me that. I don’t know. I really don’t. He says no synths know. How or why that is, I can’t say,”

“How did you escape?”

“The only thing I’ll say is I had help. Sorry. It’s the one thing I won’t talk about,”

“What’s life like for a synth in the Institute?”

“Synths are expected to behave...like machines. You await instructions. You execute instructions. You perform basic self-maintenance,” _Steve. A machine with instructions to kill._ “Anything else is considered defective. And then the SRB comes,”

“SRB?”

“They’re the ones that watch us. To make sure we’re not defective. To make sure we don’t run,” _They must have Steve under 24/7 surveillance, then_. “Synths that get noticed just disappear. I don’t know where they go,”

“You worked with scientists?”

“Yes. At least that’s what we called them. My only interaction with them was to receive orders on what to clean. I would acknowledge my task and occasionally ask for necessary clarification. But that’s really it,”

“What about the rest?”

“I heard there was a Concourse about the tunnels. It’s huge, big and green. With many synths. But they’re watched more carefully by the scientists. Mr. Stockton said very few synths from that section ever escape,”

“Thank you,” “No, _thank you_. You have no idea how nice it is to finally talk to someone,”

A black man in a leather jacket caught his attention. “Don’t shoot. Charmer, right?” Bucky smirked at that. _All his life_. “I heard about you. Walked the Freedom Trail, cleared out Switchboard. Glad you joined the team,”

Bucky squinted at him. “‘Do you have a geiger counter?’”

“Right, you are. ‘Mine is in the shop’. All good?” He turned towards H2. “Now, let’s take a look at our friend. Hey you. You okay?”

“A little rattled. But I’ve never been better. The other man...he said I shouldn’t talk too much,”

“He told you right, H2. You’ll need a real name, and a new face, but we’ll get to that,” he turned towards Bucky. “There’s more of them Raiders behind me. Afraid we need a little more help,”

“Easy,”

“You headquarter heavies mean business. We need to get to Ticonderoga Safehouse. My home. A lot of synths fresh off the boat crash there until we smuggle them out of the Commonwealth,”

“You do anything else there?”

“Most of what we do is look after the new guys. They usually got a million questions, so I try and answer as best I can. We got some of our own questions, too. About the Institute and what not. Agents sometimes drop by to lay low if the bad guys are on their tail. Never a dull moment. I’ll lead the way,” he said, turning around to leave the church, his gun up.

They go south down the street. Bucky tries to get H2 behind and the shield, but he says he will only if necessary, which is fair. He just wants the guy to have a good life, and if he dies on the way to even _start_ that, Bucky will feel bad for _days_ , maybe _weeks_. But they all continue to follow the man.

They run into Raiders just around the corner, and H2 stays out of they way, but not behind Bucky. He’s able to hide between two buildings, out of sight. Even Bucky wouldn’t even seen him, unless he was told to look.

“Agh, come on!” Piper yelled.

“You okay?” Bucky yelled back, further down the street.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Fair enough!” H2 decided to come out of his little hiding spot while a turret was shooting at them. Bucky took him close and covered them with the shield. They waited for someone to get rid of it, then he looked closely at H2. “What did I _just_ say? _Please_ stay safe, _Jesus_ ,” Bucky said. He put his arm around H2’s shoulders.

“You safe, H2? We got to keep moving,”

“You’re staying with me until I tell you not to, ‘kay? You’re not dyin’ on me, you hear?”

H2 nodded. “Sorry,”

“Just want you to be safe. Have a good life,” Bucky said moving forward. Piper was smiling at them.

There was one more Raider left, so he pushed H2 behind him and threw the shield. On the other side of the intersection was a Super Mutant running at them with a Mini Nuke in his hand. Bucky shot at it, and everyone went flying backwards because of the large explosion. Thankfully, he didn’t land on H2.

“Everyone okay?” Bucky asked. He got groans and thumbs-up as replies. Another one, without a Mini Nuke started shooting.

“What? What is that?” H2 asked.

“A piece of shit, is what it is,” Bucky replied. He threw the shield, knocking the weapon out of the mutant’s hand. “It’s a Super Mutant. I don’t know why they exist either, kid,”

Once that was over with, they continued running, but stopped.

“You hear that?” Piper asked. Bucky pushed H2 to stand behind him. It was a Raider moving around, who spotted them. _How did this guy NOT get shot at on the way to get H2?_

“Just getting warmed up over here,” the Raider said. Bucky gestured for H2 to stay out of the way while he took care of the guy, who was in the shack under the turret from earlier. “Not gonna very warm later,” Bucky said, shooting the guy in the head.

He gestured for H2 to come back, and they continued. They continued up the street and crossed over a bridge on the right. The building on the other side was Ticonderoga. Bucky let go of H2.

“We’re here. All in a night’s work for you agent types, huh?”

“So, this is a normal operation?” Bucky asked.

“More than I’d like. Sometimes I can sneak our friends through all by my lonesome,” High Rise said. “But other times it’s like the damned Raiders are holding a convention. Working with you made it a whole lot easier. If you ever need grub, bullets, or just a power-nap take the elevator up to Ticon. My house is yours. But right now, I need to take care of H2. Later,”

“Thank you,” Bucky said.

 

“The H2-22 situation appears to have been resolved satisfactorily,” Dr. Carrington said. “But there’s yet to be done. Since the fall of the Switchboard we’ve ascertained the fate of all but two safehouses. I want you to check on Augusta,”

“The safehouses are in trouble, too? I thought only the Switchboard was attacked?” Bucky asked.

“Ah, the Institute didn’t content itself with just destroying headquarters. No. They launched simultaneous strikes on all we hold dear. Herkimer and Allen Safehouses are both confirmed kills. Many dear Augusta will be added to that list,”

“Just how bad did the Institute hurt us, doc?”

“Frankly, we’re lucky there’s a Railroad left at all. I don’t remember a time our numbers have been so few. But the mission carries on,”

“Tell me about Augusta,”

“Details await at the dead drop. Have a care. Odds are very good you’re walking into something nasty,”

“I’ve been doing that all my life, doc,” Bucky said, and Carrington walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There should be a mod to hold H2's hand 
> 
> tumblr: captainsmeesh
> 
> You guys are hella cool; thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!   
> My tumblr is just my ao3 username, if you want to see what the fuck is up!


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